


A Year Like This (Sorrow and Bliss)

by jtperfecthair



Series: The Only Light We'll See [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Prompto Argentum, Dad!Cor to the MAX, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Prompto Argentum, Protective Cindy Aurum, Protective Cor Leonis, The boys are stupid, Unplanned Pregnancy, World of Ruin, bc the game's ending was sad enough lbr, but sometimes grief can make you do dumb things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 41,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27775207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jtperfecthair/pseuds/jtperfecthair
Summary: Prompto stared down at those damning two pink lines and all she wanted to do was scream. And cry. And maybe laugh a bit hysterically because she'd always known that her life was one big cosmic joke but this? This proved that more than anything.(Or: after a careless night together in the bowels of Zegnautus Keep, Prompto finds herself pregnant and stranded in Hammerhead. But what feels like a death sentence in this new world of ruin might just be the key to saving everything she loves.)
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Cindy Aurum, Prompto Argentum & Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: The Only Light We'll See [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2176542
Comments: 133
Kudos: 286





	1. Month One

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, back on my bullshit.
> 
> So I started playing ffxv around when quarantine began and it has since consumed my life. Like, I have sunk 600+ hours into this game. So, inevitably, I've gotten ideas and begun writing fics.
> 
> I have another in the works (a time travel au big surprise) but it's not too far along and so I'm saving it. This fic however has 8 chapters and over 25,000 words written so far and it's close (I think) to being finished. So I'm going to start posting it now in hopes that the comments will encourage/bully me into actually finishing it.
> 
> This whole fic is based on a hell of a lot of research/personal experience. And also will have a happy ending, though I don't know exactly what that ending will be yet. Because I physically cannot write a sad ending for this. The game's actual ending is sad enough, thanks.
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all enjoy it! I'm gonna try to post weekly at least until I catch up to what I have finished so look forward to that!

Prompto stared down at those damning two pink lines and all she wanted to do was scream. And cry. And maybe laugh a bit hysterically because she'd always known that her life was one big cosmic joke but _this_? This proved that more than anything.

They'd always been careful, her and Noctis. Before the treaty they'd barely even started a relationship, just a few shy kisses here and there. And then the treaty had come and Noctis had been given away like some kind of victory prize and all of those small intimate touches had stopped immediately. Prompto knew, deep down, that if she'd asked Noctis would have fought it, would have fought for her, but she couldn't make him make that choice. She couldn't be the reason Lucis lost the war. And, anyway, she'd been his best friend long before she'd been his girlfriend, right? It wouldn't be that hard to switch back mentally.

And then Insomnia had fallen and the Empire had taken Lucis anyway.

And still they'd been so careful, even once they became more... physical. Ignis would've killed them both if they were anything but. The four of them were on the road, in the wild more often than not, taking bounties just to get by from day to day. They were being hunted by the Empire, constantly, and they had a duty to those that had died to get their city, and their country, back. If Prompto didn't want to get left behind - and she had no doubts that they _would_ leave her behind - then she had to make sure they were careful. And she did, always.

Then Altissia happened and they all fell apart in their own ways. And then Noctis had pushed Prompto from the train and she'd found out her origins and killed her father - _twice_ \- and then Ardyn had captured and tortured her and strung her up like a twisted decoration for Noct to find.

She'd just needed to _feel_ Noctis, to know that it was really him, that he'd really come for her, that he really did love her despite everything. And he'd needed to feel her, to know that she was real and there and alive.

She didn't think about the fact that she hadn't taken her birth control in days. She didn't think about the fact that they were so rushed that Noctis never put on a condom. When she was cleaning herself out later, she spared half a thought to trying to track down a Morning-After pill once they reached civilization again.

But then Noctis was gone and daemons were swarming and people were _dying_. And, in the chaos of it all, she'd honestly forgotten all about it.

_Stupid_ , she thought to herself now, _so fucking stupid_.

She'd been so _careful_.

But here was the proof of that one solitary night of thoughtlessness, staring her right in the face. It wasn't the first test she'd taken, far from it, and she'd even tried a few different brands just in case because she'd heard that the results couldn't always be trusted. But every single one of them had come back positive. Every single one.

Prompto let out a shuddering breath, one step away from sobbing, and placed her hand against her still-flat abdomen. She'd been feeling sluggish and nauseous lately, barely had any kind of appetite, and her boobs had started to feel tender. She hadn't thought overly much about it, had put it down as stress because Six knew she had more than enough reasons to feel stressed, but then her period had never come and...

She knew it could only take one time, she _did_ , she'd paid attention to Sex-Ed in school and even more attention when Ignis had given a lecture when she began dating Noct, no matter how much she wished she could scrub that entire afternoon from her memory, so she knew just one instance of unprotected sex was enough to result in pregnancy. She _knew_.

And yet, here she was. Completely unprepared for this kind of consequence. Because they'd been so _careful_ and it had only been _once_ and, _Gods_...

What was she going to do?

* * *

_"Hey, Iggy, it's me... again. I know you're super busy in Lestallum, especially with all the new refugees pouring in. And I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important. I just... I really need your help here, Iggs. Something happened and... I can't tell you over voicemail. So, just... call me back, yeah?"_

* * *

_"Heya, big guy. I've been trying to get a hold of Iggy for awhile now. I know you're both busy but... I really need one of you to get back to me. Please? It's really important."_

* * *

_"Ignis, man, c'mon... Are you even getting these voicemails? Am I talking into the void here? I know we all... went our separate ways but I thought... I thought you'd both at least still act like I existed. Am I being ghosted right now? Seriously."_

* * *

_"I know you have your phone on you, Gladio. No way would you go out hunting without leaving Iris a way to contact you. So, are you just ignoring me here? Because let me tell ya, that is beyond a dick move. I'm not kidding when I say this is important, okay? Just call me back."_

* * *

_"Iggy... Iggy, I'm really scared, okay, and I don't know what to do and you_ always _know what to do. And I need help, please, I don't know if I can do this on my own... Please just call me back, please, please,_ please _..."_

* * *

_"I got in touch with the Marshal. He's on his way out to Hammerhead. So, you and Ignis don't have to worry about it anymore, yeah? Because I'm not your problem now. Sorry for being annoying. I won't bother either of you again."_

* * *

"And you're _certain_?"

Prompto sighed, exhausted, but she couldn't really blame the Marshal. It wasn't like he didn't believe her, he wouldn't have come all the way out here if he didn't, but this was a lot to take in. She knew that better than anyone. It'd been over a week since she'd taken all those at-home tests and she still didn't entirely believe it herself, even now.

"Yeah... I got in touch with a doctor that comes through every now and then. There's not really much to work with around here, but she took some samples back with her to Lestallum to check. Got back to me last night. It's... definitely positive."

" _Shiva's tits_ , kid," Cor sighed, running a hand down his haggard and unshaven face, and if it was any other time she'd be giggling at his language. As it was, she agreed wholeheartedly with his sentiment. "And it's his? You're sure it's Noctis'?"

Indignation welled up within her and he could clearly see it as he'd raised his hands in surrender before she could even open her mouth to shout.

"I'm not... trying to imply anything. I just need to be sure. DNA tests are required of heirs always, no matter what. If we were in the city the council would already be pushing for one even knowing they'd have to wait a few months."

"Yeah, I know," Prompto sighed, the anger leaving her as quickly as it had come and seemingly taking all of her remaining energy with it. "Ignis explained what would happen if there were any... accidents."

Cor was silent for a moment, watching her, and she wondered what he saw. Did she look as run down as she felt? Not like that'd make her special, everyone was run down these days. People were running for their lives, or running to save lives, and here she was safe in the lights of Hammerhead with probably the greatest protector she could ever ask for in the world and she was feeling sorry for herself.

Gods, but she was so fucking pathetic.

"Are you going to keep it?"

The question jolted her out of her spiral of self-recrimination and she snapped her eyes up to meet his in disbelief.

" _What_? Of course I'm going to, this is _Noct's_ , I can't just - aren't there, like, laws and stuff? I can't just get rid of it!" Ah, there was the hysteria that'd been missing this whole conversation. "That wouldn't even be allowed, why would you ask that?! I _can't_ -"

"You can, if you want," Cor shrugged, like what he was saying was perfectly reasonable. Like Prompto wasn't on the verge of breaking just from hearing it. "In the world we're in now, no one would judge you. The only one that can make this choice is you."

"I... I can't..."

"Prompto," and here his voice had gone soft, more gentle than she'd ever heard it, and she couldn't stop the sob that left her even if she tried, "what do _you_ want?"

And that was the million crown question, wasn't it? Because she wanted so many things. She wanted to not be pregnant. She wanted to have Noct's baby. She wanted the sun to rise. She wanted Gladio and Ignis to answer their godsdamned phones and just listen to her, for _once_. She wanted people to not be dying while daemons took over the entire world. She wanted Noct to have never come for her, to have never gotten anywhere near that stupid fucking crystal. She wanted to go back to before Altissia, when they were all together and whole and happy.

She wanted to curl around her stomach protectively and never let anyone near it. She wanted the thought of having a baby to not feel like a death sentence to her and her child. She wanted to bring them into a world that wasn't covered in darkness and death and fear.

She wanted Noctis to be there with her, to not be alone.

"I don't know," she finally sobbed, the tears she'd been fighting for so long breaking free. Her nose was already stuffed and she could feel her cheeks flaming and hated it. She'd always been an ugly crier. "I don't know what I want. I don't know, _I don't know_!"

"Shit, kid." And suddenly arms were around her, rocking her gently as hands rubbed up and down her back. She didn't hesitate to hug back, only distantly aware that she was probably getting snot all over Cor the Immortal. She'd feel mortified about that later. "It's alright to not know. You've got a bit of time to decide. You're not alone in this."

_Not alone_ , he said, and yet all her other calls had gone unanswered. Her friends, the ones she'd looked to as family, were completely ignoring her. And Noctis, her best friend, the love of her life, the father of her child, was stuck inside a crystal far away and Six knew when he'd be back, _if_ he'd be back.

Prompto had honestly never felt more alone in her entire life.


	2. Month Two

Prompto groaned from where she sat kneeling before the toilet. Cindy had brought her up some scrambled eggs, clearly worried about her fellow blonde's " _illness_ ", and Prompto had felt too guilty to just let them go uneaten. Not everyone was getting served breakfast, after all, and who knew how long they'd have access to eggs now that the sun wasn't rising anymore.

She was definitely regretting that decision now. Either way, they'd been wasted.

There was a soft knock at her door and she wanted to answer, really she did, but she opened her mouth just in time to sick up again, and then she was heaving too much to really care about anything else.

"Oh, _hun_ ," the voice was soft, as was the hand that came to rest against her forehead, pulling her hair back away from her sweaty face. Another soon joined, rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. "This bug has really got you, huh? I don't think I've ever seen you so miserable."

"Cindy," Prompto croaked once she was finally able. "S-Sorry... about the eggs."

"Don't you worry about that, it's all fine. I just hate seein' you so down. Think you can get back to the bed, hun?"

"Probably?" It was definitely a solid maybe. Her limbs felt super weak right now but she didn't know if that was from the lack of appetite, the vomiting, or the fact that she hadn't slept more than five hours at a time in days because she always woke up crying.

Still, she was already using Cindy's kindness by crashing in the spare room above the garage, she wasn't about to make the other girl carry her to the bed, too. Even if she knew Cindy could totally do it, and probably without even breaking a sweat.

It took a few false starts before she could get to her feet, her stomach heaving a few more times even though she was pretty sure she had nothing left to bring up. And then it was an awkward stumble back to the bed, Cindy pretty much the only thing keeping her from falling flat on her face more than once.

"There we go, sugar," the other blonde murmured softly as she tucked Prompto in, once again smoothing her hand over her forehead. "You do feel a bit warm. D'ya want some tea? It might help calm that stomach o' yours."

"Thanks, Cindy." And oh, fuck, she was about to start crying again, wasn't she? Fuck, fuck, _fuck_. "Sorry, sorry."

"None of that, now," Cindy sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed and though she didn't sound annoyed Prompto couldn't help but blubber a few more apologies anyway. "It's fine, I promise. Is it your stomach? Are you in pain? I can probably scrounge up some medicine 'round here somewhere. Might even be able to get a Potion or two off a passin' hunter. How's that sound?"

"Won't help," Prompto admitted. Because she'd definitely tried. It had taken a bit of the edge off, enough for her to get an entire meal down and keep it down, but she'd still felt sick and it hadn't done enough to justify wasting more. After all, with Noctis gone they didn't really have a way to make more. What they had was all they'd _ever_ have until he got back. _If_ he came back. "Tried. Won't help."

"A doctor then?" Cindy suggested, her brows furrowed, and Prompto felt like the scum of Eos because she looked so worried and tired and she had absolutely no idea what was happening. "This ain't normal, Prom. You've been laid out for a good week and you're not seemin' to get much better."

And she wasn't going to get better, not anytime soon. This wasn't just a bug that'd lay her out for a few days, not like she'd led Cindy to believe. She'd be down and out for months, at least, and who knew after the baby was born?

Was she just going to stay here and use up Cindy's goodwill that entire time? Wasn't like she could go out and hunt or even work in the garage to pay her back.

And what about after? Prompto had nowhere to go. Was she really going to bring a child into this world in conditions like these? She was stuck here in Hammerhead, couldn't risk taking a trip anywhere else, not even to Lestallum. Just one accident would be enough, and that was definitely a lesson she'd remember for the rest of her life. And it wasn't going to get better after the baby was born. The world wouldn't just magically fix itself. The sun would still be gone, hidden behind pitch black clouds, and daemons would still roam. This world was so, _so_ dangerous and people were dying violently every day.

Was she really going to bring a child into a world like this?

"Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed, curling in around her abdomen, but no amount of apologizing could ever be enough for damning a child to a life like this, could it? "Please, I'm sorry."

"Prompto, honey, what's wrong, what's happenin'? Is your stomach actin' up? Do you need me to run and get the Marshal?"

"Sorry, sorry, _sorry_."

"What's going on?"

"Marshal! I don't know, she just started cryin' and apologizin'. I told her it was fine but that didn't seem to help overly much."

"Thanks, I got it."

"...If you're sure. I'll be back with that tea in a bit, huh, Prom?"

There was silence for a few moments, broken only by Prompto's continuous sobbing, but she couldn't seem to stop now no matter how stupid and pathetic she knew it was. Not like it really mattered anyway. Stupid and pathetic was basically her whole gig, had been her entire life, only now she couldn't hide it behind obnoxious smiles and annoying jokes anymore.

She was so _tired_.

"Alright, kid, up you get." There were hands on her suddenly, gentle but firm, and they lifted until she was sitting up instead of laying curled on her side as she had been. "Can't be easy breathing like that. The last thing you need is to pass out. Come on. Breathe with me here. Count it down. You know the drill."

The sad thing was Prompto did know the drill. Getting through training without a panic attack was a miracle Prompto couldn't hope for and the Marshal had talked her down from more than a few. She'd been so mortified, the first time, but his no-nonsense tone had actually helped. He hadn't acted like it was anything special, hadn't pitied or looked down on her. He'd treated her just the same after every one and she'd always be grateful for that.

Still was, even now, as she fell into the familiar rhythm. It had been a long time since she'd had an honest panic attack, events usually moving too quickly in the heat of the moment and afterwards she was usually too tired or too elated to be alive to really dwell on it. Since she'd seen those two pink lines, though, she'd had pretty much nothing _but_ time to dwell. And, boy, did her mind just love to spiral into the darkest places.

"You good?" Cor asked a few minutes later, once her breathing had evened out, even if it was still a bit shaky. At her nod, he asked, "Want to tell me what that was all about, then?"

"It's..." Prompto hesitated before quietly asking, "What am I even doing, Marshal? It's night. _All the time_. There are daemons everywhere, people are dying constantly. With no sun, the plants are gonna start dying soon and then the animals will. And who knows how long it'll be like this?"

"His Highness could come back tomorrow," Cor rebuffed, watching her with that level stare, the way he always did when she started slipping. And usually it helped. Usually it reminded her to take a breath, to calm her mind down, but this time it just made her angry.

"Or he could come back years from now! Or _not at all_!" She yelled, finally voicing her biggest fear, and sniffled when tears burned at her eyes again. Gods, but she was so sick of crying all the time. "What if he doesn't come back? What if this is it? What if I bring his child into this world just to damn them to darkness and starvation? Or getting ripped apart by daemons? Or - "

"I won't let that happen," he broke into her newest spiral, voice hard with certainty. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before reaching forward to cup her face in both his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I have lost two kings already. And who knows, maybe Noctis will be the third, and there's nothing I can do about that. But I will not fail the fourth. And your child, if you choose to have them? Will be the fourth. I will guard them with my life, Prompto. I promise you."

"Okay," Prompto sobbed, holding those hands to her. This didn't make all her fears go away, didn't mean her child would be safe, but just hearing that she wouldn't be the only one looking out for them took a weight from her shoulders. "Okay."

"Yeah?" One side of the Marshal's lips quirked up into an awkward smile, even as he let her blubber all over him again. It was kind of becoming a pattern.

Prompto took a deep breath and finally found that core of steal that had been buried since Noctis had been sucked into the crystal. This child might be the last piece of him she'd ever have. And she was going to do whatever it took to protect them. She met the Marshal's eyes and, from the way his gleamed with silent pride, she could tell that he'd seen the newfound determination shining within her.

"Yeah."

* * *

The night, Prompto dreamed of laying in a field of flowers with the warm sun shining down on her and a soft voice humming gently in her ears.

It was the best night of sleep she'd gotten in weeks. And when she awoke, tears still in her eyes, she had a feeling that maybe she could do this after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this early because I have no self control and a need for validation.
> 
> No, seriously, this week at work has been horrendous and honestly comments on here are like the only thing getting me through it lmao
> 
> Anyway, you know when you write something and you really like it and you read it over and over and it still seems good so then you go to post it and suddenly the knowledge that other people are going to read it too makes it seem like the worst thing you've ever written? That's where I'm at right now. Hopefully this is as good as I thought it was yesterday and not the absolute mess I feel like it is right now.
> 
> Well, hopefully y'all enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!


	3. Month Three

Determination was all well and good, but it didn't exactly make life _easy_.

Especially not when she was half-way through month three - "Almost done with the first trimester and out of most of the danger zone!" Her doctor, Eliana, had told her with as much cheer as anyone could have these days - and she still hadn't heard a word from Gladio or Ignis. Apparently Cor hadn't either, and boy did the Marshal look beyond pissed for that.

Prompto knew the two of them were alive. Eliana was a retired hunter and spent most of her time traveling to further outposts, making house calls the way a lot of doctors simply couldn't now. She'd seen Ignis around Lestallum a time or two, though she'd never spoken to him. And Iris was one of the few bright spots the town still had and no way would the girl be able to even fake a smile if her brother was dead.

She didn't really know what that meant. Prompto knew she could be annoying; had always known that. It was a certified miracle that Noctis found her more endearing than obnoxious, most of the time. But the other two had never hidden their impatience and frustration with her, even if it had gotten better the more they'd gotten to know her.

She was loud and she never sat still and her anxiety overrode her common sense most of the time. She was tiny and wasn't really great in a fight, not like the others. She was pretty much afraid of everything and she had a tendency to whine, even when she tried her hardest not to.

In this new world, Prompto was just a liability. She'd known as much even before she'd found out she was pregnant. It was why she hadn't put up a fight when Ignis said he was going with the refugees to Lestallum to help them set up and get stabilized, all the while pointedly facing away from her. It was why she hadn't objected when, days later, Gladio had gruffly told her that he was going his own way and that she'd be better off staying here, in Hammerhead.

She knew she was useless, and they always had, too, right from the very beginning. Honestly, she was surprised they'd let her stay with them as long as they had.

So, no, the fact that they were ignoring Prompto's calls didn't totally surprise her, even though it did hurt like hell. She'd been hoping they'd left her behind out of an attempt to protect her, not to just... leave her behind.

But the fact that they also weren't answering the Marshal? Yeah, that was weird. Not even her convoluted brain could twist that in a way back to self-blame.

Beyond the anxiety that came with that, her nausea still hadn't gone away. If anything, it'd gotten worse. Eliana had assured her that it was normal, if a bit more extreme than most suffered, and that it'd only become a real problem if Prompto began to drop a lot of weight, which had only resulted in a harsh snort from the blonde. Losing weight had never really been her body's forte.

Other than that, she had started to get minor backaches, now and then. She'd started helping out at Hammerhead's hunter HQ - she might not be able to go out with them anymore but she wasn't going to be completely useless - and at the end of every day her legs and feet cramped more than they ever had before.

At first, the other hunters had been angry. They hadn't said anything outright but Prompto could tell when they all began speaking to her curtly and giving her the cold shoulder. And who could blame them really? They were out there risking their lives every day and here she was, a hunter in her own right, staying back in the protection of the lights while they went out to fight.

Things had calmed a bit the first time she'd had to run out in the middle of a conversation to be violently ill behind one of the trucks. That had proven to them that she wasn't faking, at least. She really was getting sick. And going out on a hunt like that was just asking to have her and her entire team picked off. Once she began insisting that she help at HQ, most had gone back to speaking easily with her, concern obvious all around.

She knew she'd have to tell them all soon.

Now, though, she had someone else to focus on telling.

"Hey, Cindy?" She called out, knocking on the side of the open garage. It was more out of not wanting to spook the other blonde than out of courtesy. When the garage was quiet the way it was, that usually meant Cindy was doing delicate work and she had a tendency to block everything else out when she did. The last time Prompto had approached her while she was like that, she'd almost gotten a wrench to the face. "Cindy?"

"In here, hun," came the expected absent-minded response. "Be done in a tick."

Permission granted, Prompto moved toward the voice, doing her best to navigate around the tools spread about. The garage had been Cindy's in everything but name for years but with Cid finally moved out to Lestallum a mess had quickly moved in to take his place.

And that had been an argument for the ages, really. Cindy had been adamant that her grandfather go where it was safer, as adamant as Cid had been that he'd leave Hammerhead as " _a cold corpse and not a minute sooner_ ". That response hadn't helped deescalate the fighting, obviously, and the both of them were soon at war with each other.

The old man definitely wasn't one to back down with grace, that was for sure. He'd been huffy and generally in a bad mood for days afterwards, making pointed comments and barking sharp insults.

After a week of alternating from screaming matches to silent treatments and back, the old man had snapped viciously enough to reduce Prompto to tears - not like that took a whole lot of effort these days - and Cor had apparently decided that enough was enough. The Marshal had sighed the sigh of the truly exhausted, locked himself and Cid into the garage with a stern " _give us a minute_ " to the other two, and three hours of yelling and crashing noises later, Cid had stomped out looking like he'd bitten into a lemon.

A few days later, though, he'd been gone with a convoy headed to Lestallum with promises from the hunters to get him there safely.

Things definitely seemed quieter without him around. For all that Cindy seemed happy her grandfather was somewhere more safe it was also obvious that she missed the old man dearly. She'd taken to spending long hours tinkering away in the garage and when she wasn't doing that she was trying to help Prompto in anyway she could, like if she only distracted herself desperately enough she could forget she had anyone to miss.

The fact that Prompto wasn't getting over her " _illness_ " didn't help at all, either. The bags under Cindy's eyes were almost worse than Prompto's now-a-days. And boy, did the guilt eat her alive for that.

But her abdomen was beginning to stick out noticeably now, her pants becoming just a bit too tight, and she wasn't going to be able to hide for much longer. And her doctor had said that most of the danger of miscarriage passed by the end of the first trimester, as much as that meant anything in this new world they were living in. So, if she was gonna start telling people, now was definitely the time.

Part of her really, _really_ didn't want to. Wanted to keep this a secret from everyone so that she wouldn't have to see the judgement or, worse, the looks of pity when they realized that she really was going to bring a child into this world of night.

Beyond that, there were a handful of people that would know who the father was without having to be told and Cindy was definitely one of them. She and Noct had tried to be careful in public, tried to limit their PDA around others in order to avoid giving Ignis an aneurysm. But some things just couldn't be hidden and the knowing look in Cindy's eyes every time the sharpshooter had flirted with her had said she knew quite well what was going on.

Which made this talk even harder. Because that meant there'd be double the pity.

But Cindy more than deserved the truth.

"Hey, you got a sec?" Prompto asked when the mechanic finally came into sight, hunched over a desk with metal scattered everywhere and holding the tiniest screwdriver she'd ever seen.

"For you, hun? I could give you a whole minute." With a sigh, Cindy finally sat up, wincing as she stretched her back out. She nudged the extra stool over with her foot as she rolled her neck, slumping when it gave a satisfying crack. "What's on your mind?"

"Well..." Prompto hesitated, carefully taking a seat instead of flinging herself down like she would've just a few months ago. Eliana had assured her that her body was hardier than she'd think but to still take it easy. Prompto couldn't help but move like her torso was made of glass, though, and not just because sudden movements tended to trigger her nausea. "I've been... _sick_ for a few weeks now. And you've been so good to me, Cin, seriously. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you."

"Aw, it ain't nothin', sugar," Cindy assured gently even as her brows furrowed in worry. "You okay, though? Did the doc finally figure out what's wrong?"

"That's, uh... that's the thing," Prompto rubbed the back of her neck, anxious. "I'm not... _really_ sick, or anything. It's... a bit more complicated than that."

"But you've been chuckin' up left an' right! Always tired, an' don't think I haven't noticed your back botherin' you lately. There's gotta be - " Cindy cut off, eyes going wide as she stared down at the hand Prompto had absently begun rubbing over her stomach. "Oh, holy Six."

Prompto snorted. "Well, you're definitely handling this better than I have up 'til now."

"You... Are you really...?"

"Pregnant? About as verified as can be," she shrugged, going for nonchalant and missing by a mile when her voice quivered. "I know I should have told you sooner. You didn't really sign up for any of this beyond helping a sick friend. I'll understand if you want me out of your hair. Cor's already got a place in mind that we can go, if we can't make it to Lestallum. I just haven't wanted to risk going out there, ya know? But better now than later, the bigger I get the more dangerous it'll be, and - "

"Oh, shush, I ain't lettin' you go anywhere, are you crazy?" Cindy demanded, thankfully cutting off Prompto's rambling before she could spiral further and make an even bigger fool out of herself. "Now you listen here, an' you listen good: you are my _friend_. Ain't no way I'm kickin' you out there to fend for yourself, Marshal or not. You want to head to Lestallum, I'll make it happen, but if you want to stay here you've got a place with me, always."

"You - " Ah, dammit, she'd been doing a lot better at not bursting into tears lately, too. "You don't have to, seriously, you've already done so much - "

"An' I'll keep doin' more. An' that's _that_ ," Cindy harrumphed, but even her eyes looked a bit glassy, and then she was lunging forward to gather Prompto up into her arms and, _gods_ , but did that feel nice. She could still remember hugs like this from her mother when she'd been tiny but that had been ages ago and this was so much better. "I got ya, hun, don't you worry."

"Thank you," Prompto sobbed, holding on for dear life. She knew the Marshal was here for her and would be until the end but a part of her, that insidious part that tore her to pieces at every opportunity, insisted that he was only here because of his duty to the crown, or whatever was left of it. But Cindy gave barely two shits about the crown, had always cared about them all as _people_ first, even Noctis, and her being here meant she was here for _Prompto_ and no other reason. " _Thank you_."

"You're welcome," the mechanic answered simply and said nothing when Prompto just held on tighter. For a few minutes they stayed like that, letting the quiet settle, and then Cindy heaved a sigh. "I hate to ask, but... is it...?"

"It's Noct's," Prompto confirmed softly and even now, three almost four months after the fact, just saying his name felt like a punch straight to the chest. "He's the only... It's his."

"Oh, hun," Cindy breathed, sounding on the verge of tears herself, and Prompto shuddered and refused to back away, refused to look up because she didn't want to see the pity, she didn't she didn't _she didn't_ \- "We'll just have to take care o' you until the prince gets back, then, now won't we?"

"What?" Prompto blinked, thrown off. That hadn't been the response she was expecting.

"He'll be so mad he missed out on this, he'll be sulkin' for weeks! But we'll make sure you an' the little one are here waitin' for 'im." A lot of the cheer in her voice was obviously forced but Prompto was so grateful she could've started sobbing all over again. "Where're those boys o' his, though? Wouldn't've thought they'd skip out on somethin' like this."

"They're..." And that was the question, wasn't it? "I don't know. Ignis is in Lestallum, I know that much. Don't know where Gladio is. I've tried getting a hold of them a few times but... even Cor's been having trouble."

The mechanic huffed even as she gently disentangled herself and leaned back into her chair. She crossed her arms immediately, lips pursed and eyes narrowed as she glared into open air. "You just wait until I get my hands on them. Of all the _stupid_ \- "

"It's fine, really!" Prompto hurriedly waved away, a bit embarrassed. Noctis had been the only one to ever really stand up for her like this, especially to the likes of Gladio and Ignis, and she really didn't know how to handle it. "They're both busy with important stuff. It's not like we don't have time, here."

"That's dualhorn shit an' ya know it, hun," Cindy reprimanded, though her voice gentled considerably. " _You're_ just as important. An' right now you need people in your corner."

"I've got you," Prompto shrugged and, Six, that was so nice to say. Even nicer to know that it was true. "I've got Cor. I've got Hammerhead. I'm doing a lot better than I could be."

Cindy let out a long breath, clearly not agreeing one bit but refraining from carrying on the topic, instead saying, "An' you'll do a lot better with a nap, I can see your eyes droopin'. Go on, git."

Prompto huffed a laugh but couldn't deny that Cindy was right. Crying always took it out of her and lately she'd been beyond exhausted anyway. Still, as she got to her feet, she swooped in for one last hug and smiled when Cindy's arms immediately wrapped around her in return.

"Thanks, Cindy. Really, I mean it," she whispered, gripping tightly for a moment before stepping back, swiping at her eyes and about-facing quickly. "Alright, I'm outta here. Don't stay down here for hours!"

"Yeah, yeah, quit yer naggin'," Cindy threw back in her best impression of her grandfather's rough drawl, and Prompto left the garage in giggles and feeling lighter than she had in months.

She had people in her corner and she could get through this, somehow. She would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little late with this one oops
> 
> In my defense I closed the last two nights. And seeing as how we're closing at 11 now and at midnight next week, well.... the next update might be a bit late too. But! It's already fully written so it'll definitely be out by Sunday at the very latest!
> 
> Anyway, Big Sis Cindy! I absolutely adore the concept of Cindy being Prompto's big sister and could not resist putting it in this fic any more than I could resist Dad!Cor. 
> 
> Hope y'all liked it! Comment and let me know what you think :)


	4. Month Four

"Holy shit, shortstack! What happened to you?"

Prompto groaned when she heard the voice call out to her from across the parking lot. It wasn't that she wasn't happy, she _was_ , but... well, clearly there was no hiding her condition anymore if all it took was a glance to see it.

"Aranea," she greeted, turning to face the approaching Dragoon. And damn, did the other woman look good. Tired, obviously overworked, but _good_. "You're a sight for sore eyes. I'm glad you're okay."

"Psht, like I'm that easy to take down. This endless night's gonna have to try a hell of a lot harder than that." And then she grinned, just this side of vicious, and Prompto tried to brace herself. "So, who's balls do I need to kick into their scrotum? I'll even offer my services for free, just this once."

Prompto blinked, caught off guard. She hadn't been expecting that, though she probably should have.

The last month had been a bit of a mixed bag, honestly. There were a lot of good people here that were genuinely helpful. But there were just as many that sneered her way whenever they thought she couldn't see it. Out here on her own the worst of them thought she was nothing but a whore while the rest just thought she was stupid. And she couldn't really blame them for that. What would she think of someone deciding to bring a life into a world like this? And it wasn't like she could explain why, couldn't tell them that she was carrying the heir to the Lucian throne. That'd go way beyond dangerous straight into down-right suicidal.

For some reason, she'd figured Aranea would group in with those that thought she was just an idiot. And who knew, maybe the mercenary did, but she'd also always believed in doing whatever you wanted to without giving a fuck what others thought.

And maybe Prompto wasn't the only one who'd felt a bond forming during those harrowing days in the tundra of Nifflheim because if she wasn't seeing things Aranea was definitely eyeing her up and down with concern and a bit of protectiveness.

"He's... not here," Prompto finally responded after an awkward moment of silence, wincing when this only made the woman's eyes narrow dangerously. "It's not his fault! He was... taken."

"Oh," Aranea blinked for a moment, clearly connecting the dots because she was one of the few that had seen how both her and Noctis had reacted from being separated, and Prompto couldn't help but grimace when her eyes widened in understanding. " _Oh_. Shit, that sucks. Well, like I always say, quit moping start hoping. Too much to do around here to waste time feeling sorry for yourself. You're tough, you'll be fine."

And, _oh_ , but did that make her just want to burst into tears right there on the spot.

Aranea could probably see it, too, because she immediately said, "I need to check in with some people," and was gone as quickly as she'd arrived. And Prompto couldn't even do anything but laugh.

It was nice to know that even people like Aranea could be awkward sometimes.

* * *

"Oh, that is some dualhorn shit, no way that actually happened!"

"I'm tellin' ya, right there in the middle of the diner! Just pulled it out of his jacket, easy as you please, like he wasn't holdin' one of the most feared varmints in all of Eos!"

"A coeurl kit, though? How'd he even get close enough to nab one? And why'd he think it was a good idea in the first place?"

"Couldn't tell ya, but you shoulda seen Takka's face. I've never seen that man get so pale so fast. I thought he'd faint on the spot!"

"Oh, man! Yeah, jumpiest dude on the planet meets world's meanest cat is not a - " Prompto froze, the words dying in her throat, as she felt... something coming from her stomach. Almost like someone had released a whole batch of butterflies and, for a second, she thought it was gas. She'd reached the point where she only felt a bit of embarrassment about it anymore, at least around Cindy or Cor, but this... was different. Because there was no follow-up, no belches or anything, just that bubbly feeling.

And then she felt it again and grabbed her protruding stomach with a gasp. That wasn't gas.

"Prom? Prompto? What's happenin'? Do I need to get Cor? Do you need me to call the doc?"

Prompto looked up into Cindy's panicking eyes and for a second nothing really connected to her brain. And then, gaze drawn back down to her abdomen like a magnet, she said softly, slowly, like any loud noise could ruin this moment, "No, no, it's fine. I'm..."

"You're what?" Cindy demanded, not looking comforted at all. "Hun, you gotta talk to me here, I'm kinda freakin' out."

"It's... they moved," Prompto whispered, and didn't look up at the sharp intake of breath her words gained. "I felt them. Just... soft. But I felt them."

And then her lower lip was wobbling even as a grin stretched across her face because she _felt them_.

It wasn't like she hadn't believed before. She'd known the truth since those cheap at-home pregnancy tests, since the doctor had confirmed, since Cor had shown up with his vows of protection, since her stomach had slowly started to grow outward and her pants had begun to feel too tight.

But this, for some reason, made it feel real in a way nothing else had yet. There was a living human growing inside of her. She was carrying Noctis' child, _her_ child, and she could _feel_ them.

"Hey, there," she whispered, running her hands soothingly over her tummy. "Finally awake? Are you comfy in there?" She waited a moment but felt nothing else. Far from sad, she only huffed in amusement. "Back to sleep, huh? You definitely take after your father."

Prompto gave her stomach a few more gentle pats before looking up, only to find Cindy standing frozen before her. Eye contact was all that was needed before the mechanic was lunging forward, wrapping Prompto up in the most gentle hug she'd ever experienced.

"Oh, hun, the look on your face," Cindy whispered into her hair as she rocked the both of them back and forth. "You're smitten, you are."

"Well, yeah," Prompto couldn't help but laugh. How the hell could she be anything else, at this point?

"Yeah," Cindy agreed, pulling back only to rest their foreheads together. And then she took in a deep breath before moving away. "Anyway, so this guy pulls out this coeurl kit, right? And Takka about damn near hits the _ground_!"

"Yeah? What happened then?"

Cindy continued on with her story of better days, back when the sun still rose like clockwork, and if Prompto's hand didn't leave her stomach once the entire time? Well, Cindy wasn't one to judge her for something like that.

* * *

She was back in the flower field, sun an ever-present warmth on her face the way it just wasn't when she was awake. There was a soft humming in her ears, as there always was, a melody that was familiar down to her bones even though she could swear she'd never heard it before. Prompto had been having this same dream off and on for months now, looked forward to it because it meant at least one night full of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.

Tonight, though, something was different. Tonight, there were slim fingers running gently through her hair. The feeling had Prompto damn-near purring like a cat.

" _Motherhood can be a heavy burden,_ " a low, feminine voice spoke suddenly as the humming abruptly stopped; if Prompto wasn't feeling so boneless she probably would have flinched. " _But it is also the greatest of gifts. Is this a gift to you?_ "

_Yes_ , Prompto wanted to answer but couldn't find her voice to say. And for all the stress and uncertainty it really was. Maybe it was stupid of her but she couldn't regret keeping her baby; wouldn't ever regret it no matter how things ended up. Her love for them was all-consuming and never-ending in a way she'd never felt before. She would do absolutely anything for them, would give anything for them. _The greatest of gifts_.

Thinking it alone seemed to be enough, for the voice hummed one sweet, affirming noise, and it sounded like the sweet song of birds at sunrise. " _I'm glad. Their very existence will change the fate of the world. Love them well._ "

Prompto agreed with her whole being, knowing that there was no other option, not for her.

There were no more words after that, just more soft humming as the fingers continued to gently detangle her hair, and she spent the rest of the night feeling completely at peace.

* * *

"Cor! Cor, come here, I can feel them again, come say hello!"

"You know as well as I do it's too early for me to feel anything."

"Well, come over here anyway!"

Prompto could see the way the Marshal sighed in exasperation but still the man spoke to the hunter next to him quietly for only a moment before diligently making his way over. Prompto couldn't help but grin at that. Lately, it was like she was on cloud nine, and seeing how the people in her life obviously cared for her and her baby only made her more giddy. And she'd been having that weird dream more lately, meaning she was more well-rested than she'd probably been since before Altissia.

"Look, look, grandpa Cor's comin' to see ya!" Prompto cheered, patting at her stomach and smiling even wider at the answering bubbles she felt. She knew, logically, that the baby wasn't responding to her, per say. They couldn't hear her quite yet, wouldn't for a few more weeks according to Eliana, and the response was likely more out of coincidence than anything else. Still, she couldn't help but coo, "Aw, that's right, little one! You're excited, too, huh?"

"What's there to be excited about? Not like I'm not here most days," Cor commented dryly as he came up to her side, immediately placing a hand at her back and guiding her towards the plastic chairs over by the camper. "And what are you doing running around? Shouldn't you be in the diner?"

"I was getting bored," Prompto pouted, put out. Things had slowed down a bit, now that most of those still alive had been taken to Lestallum or some of the other outposts. There were still distress calls now and then from people that had been too stubborn to leave their homes or hunters that got too in over their heads, but mostly it was just status reports. Daemon hunting was still necessary when the beasts got too close to what was left of civilization but usually, unless they had to go for supply runs, they left the daemons to roam. Wasn't much point in going out to put them down when more would spawn soon anyway. "Besides, they started moving and then I wanted to move. Staying in one spot too long makes the leg cramps _unbearable_."

"Yeah, yeah," the Marshal sighed in clear good-humor, even if his face didn't even twitch. "And you needed me because?"

"I always need you!" Oh, _wow_ , that was way more honesty than any of them wanted, _dial it back, Prompto_. "And they wanted to see you, too. I could tell. Mother's intuition, you know."

"Right. The baby, who can't see or hear, wanted me to keep them company."

"Exactly!" Prompto cheered, ignoring the man's sarcasm. Honestly, she couldn't believe she'd never realized it before but Cor was one of the most sarcastic people she'd ever met. His humor was dry or it was morbid and there really was no in-between. Either way, you could never tell when he was joking, not unless you knew him, because his face tended to only have one expression and that was ' _severe_ '. "Isn't that right, little one? You wanted to see grandpa Cor, didn't you?"

" _Please_ don't call me that," Cor the Immortal, living Lucian legend, whined and sighed like an angsty teenager. "I am not old enough to be called ' _grandpa_ ', for Shiva's sake."

"Too late!" Prompto sang, delighted as she always was to pull these kinds of reactions from the man. It was happening more and more lately and she couldn't be happier. "You're in too far, now, there's no going back. Though, would you prefer grandpappy? Grandpap? Or a more formal Grandfather? Never took you for the stuffy type."

"You know what? Grandpa works just fine," Cor cut in quickly. "Are you good? I need to get back over there to help with the planning."

"Supply run, right?" Prompto sighed, wiggling back into the chair to get as comfortable as her back would let her. She grinned appreciatively when Cor brought over another chair for her to rest her feet on without even seeming to think about it. "Yeah, I'm good. I'll head back to the diner in a bit, if Cindy doesn't come drag me home first."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything," the Marshal ordered, ruffling her hair before heading back to the hunter he'd been talking with before.

Prompto sighed as she watched him go before directing her gaze to the sky. Man, but she missed the stars. Not as much as she missed the _sun,_ but still. It made her chest ache, the way a lot of things did if she let herself think on them for too long. She was trying to get better, though. And feeling those bubbles and butterflies as her little one moved around inside of her definitely helped, as did those peaceful dreams in the flower field.

"You know, your dad knows all the constellations," she told them quietly when she felt them again, even knowing she might as well be talking to thin air. "He kind of had to, given his family, but I think it was one of the few things he actually enjoyed learning. Some nights, when we were camping and couldn't sleep, he'd point them out to me and tell me the stories. Oh, the way he would _smile_..."

Prompto continued on, even when her voice faltered, even when a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Because Noctis could come back tomorrow or a year from now or _never_ but their child was going to know him. No matter how much it hurt, she would make absolutely sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens!
> 
> I'll be real honest here. When I first started writing this I had no real plot in mind beyond "Prompto is pregnant and left at Hammerhead" and I did waffle back and forth over whether to stick to the game ending or make up my own. But I really wanted to make my own. And that's what I'm gonna do.
> 
> As such, there's gonna be some lore thrown in and a lot of liberties taken. Hopefully you guys will like it!
> 
> Stay tuned because next week we finally find out what Iggy and Gladio have been up to!


	5. Interlude

" _You have one unheard voicemail. First unheard voicemail._ "

Ignis sighed and tried to refrain from rubbing his temples, an action that was getting harder and harder to resist as the days went by.

His exhaustion seemed to grow by the hour as more and more refugees arrived seeking shelter and safety. The latter they could offer easily with their walls and lights and power plant. The former? That was where the true challenge lay.

Their space was not infinite. As large as Lestallum was, bigger than the other outposts by far, they were still limited. And with each person that arrived they grew closer and closer to bursting at the seams.

And that wasn't even getting into the conundrum that was _feeding_ them all. They had hunters making near-daily runs and still people were starving. And there wasn't overly much they could realistically do about it, no matter how much Ignis wracked his brain for solutions. They were doing all that they could.

As cold-hearted as it likely was, he was praying there wouldn't be too many more refugees sent their way. While the lack would mean that _this_ _was it_ , it would also mean that those they had were more likely to survive. Well, for a given value of _survive_.

Honestly, he couldn't see this ending well no matter what. Maybe it was the pessimist in him, maybe it was just the realist, but the longer the night drew on the less food they'd have. And no amount of supply runs would fix that if there simply wasn't anything to find. Plants would be dying soon, already were, and with them would go the animals link by link up the food chain. Fish may yet survive but would the reward outweigh the risk of sitting on a dock for hours with no guarantee of anything caught?

Really, without Noctis around the world truly had gone to complete and utter shit.

But that thought twinged in his chest too painfully, the way thoughts of his king always did, and he quickly directed his mind elsewhere. In this case, towards his phone.

" _Scientia, call me._ Now _. I don't give a single rat's ass what you're doing. Call me before I come collect you myself. Believe me, you're not gonna like that option._ "

Ignis stared into the darkness that was his constant, these days, feeling a bit nonplussed. It wasn't like the Marshal to take that kind of tone with him. Usually it was used on new recruits with baseless egos.

But, he supposed, he might actually deserve it in this instance. This wasn't the first voicemail the man had left him and he'd still yet to get back to him. He wasn't ignoring him, not purposefully at least, but it just seemed that every time he'd received a message in the past he'd been in the middle of something. He'd always sworn to call back later but then he'd get busy. And without his sight, it was harder to remember things like missed calls when they weren't staring him in the face.

Prompto... As guilty as it made him feel, Prompto he had ignored. Not maliciously, never that, but...

Noctis had loved her more than anything. Anyone with eyes could see it. Even without his, he'd been able to see it with clarity. It was the kind of love that sonnets were written about, the kind that fueled legends. And she loved him just the same, maybe more. His was a bit of a selfish love, a product no doubt of his spoiled upbringing, but Prompto's had been selfless through and through. She would've given up completely if Noctis had asked, would've stepped aside as he married Lady Lunafreya without a fight if only she knew Noctis would be happy.

And when Noctis had been entrapped by the crystal she'd broken. She'd done so quietly, with as much dignity as she could, but her absolute misery had been obvious. The hitched breaths, the restless sleep, the complete lack of appetite. The absolute disregard for her own safety when they'd been helping civilians escape while making their way back to Lucis.

It was selfish of Ignis, so selfish, but he couldn't stand to be around it. Couldn't stand to watch her, for all that he could watch anything now, spiral down and down until there was nothing left of the bright young girl who smiled so wide and loved so strongly. Couldn't bear to witness the woman that Noctis loved with his whole being fall apart.

And every thought of Prompto brought forth the thought of Noctis, attached together as they'd always been since their first meeting, and... it _hurt_. It hurt so godsdamned much. Hurt even worse knowing that even if Noctis came back tomorrow, he wouldn't be permitted to stay. They'd have a day with him, maybe a week, and then his king would be off to fulfill his duty as the King of Light.

And if Prompto had made it that far then she'd only break again, he knew she would, and there would be no coming back from it after.

So, yes, as much as it made his insides twist with guilt, he had been ignoring Prompto. And honestly, was a tad surprised she hadn't made her way here to kick his ass herself for it, though he supposed that only proved further how right he was about her mental state.

Ignis hadn't heard from her in quite awhile, though. _Gods_ , but he hoped desperately that she was okay. This was of his own doing, he knew, but he'd never forgive himself otherwise.

Cor, though, would make good on his threat. And if he didn't want the people of Lestallum, people that he had dragged the respect out of kicking and screaming, to see him getting hauled away and scolded like a wayward child, he'd best call the man back, no matter how much he wanted to simply flop onto his bed and sleep for as long as he was allowed.

He put the phone on speaker and set it on the table so that he could multi-task, pulling simple ingredients out of the cabinet that he'd marked with dots of glue to identify. After all, the sooner he got this call over with and ate something, the sooner he'd be able to go to bed.

Though, as the phone went on to the fifth ring, he was beginning to think he wouldn't be speaking to the Marshal tonight, after all. He did hope the man was appeased by his clear attempt to get back to him, because -

" _It's about damn time, Scientia,_ " the man in question growled as the call connected, not bothering to hide his irritation under his usual blank façade, and that was very bad indeed. " _Is it really that difficult to answer the damn phone?_ "

"My apologies, Marshal," Ignis responded, hesitant and truly feeling out of his depth. He didn't think he'd ever had a superior turn that kind of tone on him before. "Things in Lestallum have been extremely busy, as I'm sure you can imagine. Frankly, I'm surprised you're available to answer my own call, given your expertise in the field. You must be in higher demand than Gladio."

" _Speaking of, where the hell is he? I've been trying to get a hold of the both of you for weeks, and_ nothing _. I shouldn't have to tell you that that is absolutely inexcusable. Whether his Highness is here or not, you both have a duty to serve._ "

"I truly do apologize," Ignis repeated, his voice now stiff with tension. "I've no idea where Gladiolus may be. He pops in every now and again, to check on his sister, but otherwise he is, as they say, in the wind."

" _Well, that's just damn great. Listen. I'm out at Hammerhead with Prompto and I need the two of you to get your asses out here,_ now _. You should've been out here this whole damn time. And don't think we won't be having a long talk about you ignoring her calls. I know she told you it was important. The fact that I had to step in like this because the both of you had your heads too far up your own asses to step up is a disgrace. And if Noctis doesn't kick your ass for it when he gets back, I will. Now_ get here."

And then his call went dead without so much as a by-your-leave and Ignis found himself standing in his kitchen absolutely frozen to the spot.

Because Cor was right, Prompto had said it was important, very important, and yet still Ignis had ignored her. Had brushed it off as nothing, probably just the emotions of a distraught girl who'd just lost the love of her life. And even if that had been all it was, Cor was right to say he should be ashamed of himself. Hadn't he counted Prompto as a friend? Piss poor way of him to show it.

But he was sure it was something much bigger than just depression. Cor wouldn't moor himself to one place, especially not one as far out as Hammerhead, when his skills were undoubtedly needed elsewhere, for nothing. Whatever was happening, it truly was of the utmost importance, and as the Marshal had said, his head had been too far up his own ass to see it. Blindness had nothing to do with it.

Ignis sighed, abandoning his dinner preparations and instead feeling his way across the room to his dresser. It seemed he had a bit of packing to do. And he'd have to remember to leave a note with Iris in hopes of getting in touch with Gladio. Truly the young woman was the only link to the Shield left. He never answered any one else's calls, not even Ignis'.

And if this really was as important as Cor alluded, and Ignis truly had messed up as spectacularly as he was beginning to suspect, Noctis would be first in line to reprimand him upon his return. And that thought hurt, so much worse than almost any before it.

Ignis would bear it all, though. It was the least that he deserved.

* * *

When Gladio was told that he'd be working with Aranea Highwind he'd grumbled a bit but largely hadn't cared.

He barely knew the woman, which was always a plus in his book these days, but from what little he remembered from the fight at the Imperial base they'd snuck onto, she was one hell of a fighter. She was strong enough to take care of herself and wouldn't need him looking after her. And any mistake she made would be her own fault and he wouldn't have to carry any guilt from that, which was how he liked it.

If there was one thing Gladio wasn't now-a-days, it was a Shield. He'd forced himself into the role at first, doing rescue mission after rescue mission to get civilians to safety, and he was done.

He wasn't meant to be a Shield. Maybe he never had been, no matter how his fight with Gilgamesh had turned out. After all, a true Shield would've never let their King get sucked into a fucking rock while they weren't even there. A true Shield wouldn't be standing here, living and breathing, while their King rotted away trapped for who the hell knew how long.

Gods, but his father had to be rolling in his damned grave.

And, yeah, maybe he wasn't handling this whole thing that great. He'd never really been awesome at the whole "healthy coping" thing, though, and now seemed like a pretty shitty time to start trying to learn. No matter how guilty he might feel as he let first Prompto and then Ignis' calls go unanswered. He just... He _couldn't_.

He couldn't deal with them right now, couldn't handle the thought of being their protection against the world. Because that's what he'd be, if he was with them. It was too hard-wired into every fiber of his being to be anything else.

And he'd try, eventually. He would. He'd go to Lestallum one day and, after checking in with his sister as he always did, he'd drop by Ignis' apartment and he'd stay for dinner. And the two of them would talk long into the night, and Iggy would drop a few chiding comments here and there but otherwise they wouldn't bring it up, would act like the last few months of dead silence between them had never even happened, and everything would be fine.

Prompto would probably cry and yell a bit, sure, but she'd always been quick to forgive. And he wouldn't mind working for it because he knew he'd deserve her ire after more or less dumping her in Hammerhead and then ignoring her for months. But they'd work through it, he'd make sure they'd work through it, he just needed time on his own right now. He needed to get his head screwed on straight again, to move past the all-consuming failure he felt every second that Noct was gone. Once that had softened a bit, he'd return to them and he'd make amends.

At least, that was the plan, right up until Aranea Highwind stalked up to him at their camp and socked him straight in the nose.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" The mercenary was hissing before he'd even hit the ground. And, _Six_ , but he had to be out of serious practice if he was letting people get the drop on him like that. He'd been spending too much time thinking of only daemons as enemies lately.

"What the actual fuck?" He groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood and glaring up at her, prepared for any kind of move she made now. If she wanted a fight he'd damn sure give her one. "What's your problem?"

" _My_ problem? What's _my_ problem? What the fuck is _your_ problem?" She snarled back, fists clenching at her sides like she was thinking of going in for another hit, and yep, he was officially confused. They'd been on opposite sides of the war at one point and even then she hadn't looked at him with a fraction of the animosity she was directing his way now. "Last time I saw you, I thought you actually gave half a shit about blondie. That was one hell of an act, I'll give you that. What? Didn't want Prince Charming to know you didn't give two fucks about his girlfriend?"

Gladio was on his feet before he'd even made the conscious decision to rise. "Of course I care about her!"

"Well, you're not fucking acting like it!" Aranea yelled back, not at all daunted by their difference in size. "Who the fuck calls someone a friend and then leaves them stranded, alone and pregnant? I would've figured you'd at least be there out of duty to the prince if nothing else." She scoffed, derisive, as her lips pulled back into a sneer. "And here you lot all acted like Lucians were so different, like you actually had honor. _Ha_ , what a load of dualhorn shit."

The insult honestly went right over Gladio's head, his thoughts too stuck on, "Pregnant?"

"Yes, pregnant, you fucking moron. And a few months, too, if her size means anything."

"Prompto? _Our_ Prompto? She's..."

"Yeah, big guy," Aranea rolled her eyes. The rage was dying down but she still looked several steps passed annoyed and ready to throw fists again at any moment. "Don't tell me she hasn't been trying to get a hold of you."

"Yeah, she... Shit, fuck, _shit_."

"There it is," she sighed with vicious satisfaction, clearly enjoying watching him spiral at this new revelation. "Do yourself a favor and head to Hammerhead, yeah? Because if I go visit her again and she looks like someone shot a litter of puppies in front of her because you lot still aren't there, I'm gonna hunt you down and drag you back there myself. _For free_. Got it?"

And then she was stalking away, clearly having said her piece, while her men scrambled to follow her.

Gladio watched her go and sighed, head sagging down until his chin rested upon his chest. Because _shit_ , seriously, but he'd screwed up so bad.

Fuck his coping, fuck his guilt, he'd made everything so much worse. If Noctis knew he'd left Prompto alone for even a moment, pregnant or not, all because Gladio was feeling guilty? Oh, but he'd kick his ass so hard and Gladio would let him, wouldn't even put up a fight.

Fuck rolling in his grave, his dad was probably frothing at the damn mouth. He'd left Prompto, his comrade and his friend, alone at an outpost far away from any others while pregnant with the heir to the Lucian throne.

He sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly remembering all those calls he'd been ignoring from Cor. He'd been curious why the Marshal would be calling him but had figured if it was anything serious he'd either hear about it through the grapevine or through Iris. Now he was starting to realize just what those calls were likely about.

Noctis wasn't going to get the chance to tear him a new one for this. Hell, even Aranea would be too slow for it.

No, Cor the Immortal had to be baying for his damn blood at this point and he wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't anything left of him afterwards.

And for all this stupid shit? He'd definitely deserve worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have an early update. My gift to you.
> 
> A bit of a perspective change in this chapter. And we finally get to see what Iggy and Gladio have been up to! They're very stupid, yes, but grief can make you do some truly dumb things sometimes and these boys were definitely thinking with their broken hearts instead of their heads. I made that a tag for a reason lmao 
> 
> Next week we'll be back with Prompto!
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys like the update! Enjoy the rest of your holiday season and I'll see you all next year!


	6. Month Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was titled "confrontation the first" in my docs lmao

Prompto knew, without a doubt, that if she was literally anyone else on the planet, grabbing Cor's hand the way she did would end in a vicious scolding at the very best, being laid out flat on her ass at worst. But, while he still twitched at the sudden touch sometimes, he'd more or less become used to it. And he couldn't even get mad at her, not really, because it always only meant one thing.

"Little one's feeling a bit excited. I think they know it's mama's bedtime and they wanna stay up for a bit," she told him as she laid his palm against the right side of her stomach. It had begun growing outward at a quicker rate recently, though she had a feeling she should've been bigger, if Eliana's frown at every check-up meant anything. Still, Prompto was likely the best-fed person in Hammerhead so it wasn't like she really had the room to complain.

As expected, Cor's face softened immediately when he felt the tell-tale thumping from within her, the same way it always did. Honestly, if she'd told her sixteen-year-old self - hell, even her _twenty_ -year-old self - that Cor the Immortal was a gigantic softy deep down, she probably would've had herself committed. There really was no denying it though. All it took was a few movements from the baby and the man basically melted.

It was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen in her life. Not that she'd ever say it out loud. She'd do at least that much to preserve the man's dignity.

"Shiva's tits, kid, don't you ever get tired? I thought you were Noctis'."

Prompto huffed a laugh at that, even as she narrowed her eyes at the expletive. Yeah, the baby couldn't understand them, not really, but they could definitely hear them now. And she'd prefer they didn't come out of the womb cussing like a little sailor, thanks.

She knew she was gone when even that visual made her want to squeal. Seriously, so cute!

"They sleep plenty. It's only when _I_ want to sleep that they get all uppity. And that's honestly just more proof that they without a doubt take after their dad." She sighed, wincing just a bit at the next hit. It didn't hurt, per say, but she was already really sore and it wasn't exactly helping. "Your dad hated it when all attention wasn't on him, too."

Cor snorted, clearly in agreement, even if he didn't voice it aloud. Maybe saying such things was considered treason, who knew? But she'd been way passed caring about such things when she was a teenager, let alone now when she was five going on six months pregnant. If Noctis didn't like the trash talking he could come back and tell her himself.

That thought was likely to lead to thinking about the fact that he still wasn't back, though, not even months later, and that would lead to a good long crying jag, and she'd really rather skip that for now. She'd been doing a really good job of not crying in public lately and she'd hate to break her streak.

Instead she yawned, swaying almost drunkenly afterwards, and wasn't surprised when Cor immediately transferred his hold to her arm to steady her instead. A severe frown marred his face but his eyes spoke only of concern. "You okay? What are you even doing down here, shouldn't you be trying to get some sleep?"

"I was," Prompto insisted, pouting. She really had been, too, for all the good it did her with her kid boxing with her kidneys. "I just came down here to get... something."

Something important. Something... something... Oh!

"Onions! I wanted an onion. And maybe some peanut butter, if we have any?"

Cor's nose wrinkled in obvious disgust but he made no comment. The last time he'd tried to steer her away from her weirder cravings, she'd ended up sobbing on the kitchen floor while he fretted above her. Cindy had gone from incandescent rage to uncontrollable laughter in minutes and still hadn't let Cor live it down.

The fact that the mechanic would go toe-to-toe with Cor the Immortal with absolutely no hesitation for her had been one hell of an ego-boost, though. She'd ridden that good mood for _days_.

"Whatever you say, kid. Let's get your... _snack_ and then get you back to bed, huh? You need all the rest you can get."

He wasn't wrong. If Prompto had thought she was exhausted before, it was nothing compared to now. Now, she was lucky to sleep a handful of hours at a time, except for those glorious nights where she dreamt of that field with the sun shining down warmly and that soft voice humming and talking to her quietly. If the baby wasn't keeping her awake training to be a brawler, it was her bladder. She'd never peed to much in her godsdamned _life_.

And according to Eliana, that was only gonna get worse from here on out.

"You're so lucky I love you," she grumbled down at her stomach only to be answered by another jab. Ignoring Cor's raised eyebrow, she marched onward to the kitchen before she forgot what she was down here for again.

According to the doctor, everything looked good so far, save for being behind the curve in weight gain. All the symptoms she'd brought up in half-panicked phone calls had been explained away, from her aching ribs to her shortness of breath to the pounding headaches she got from time to time. Even her absentmindedness - well, _greater_ absentmindedness - and the horrible itching of her stretching stomach.

And, honestly, she'd had no idea pregnancy could be this... uncomfortable.

Not that she'd thought it'd all be a walk in the park! She'd known it'd be difficult, hadn't ever deluded herself from that, but there were so many little things that were never really mentioned and that she hadn't at all been prepared for. Eliana tried her best, she really did, but the woman had never been an OBGYN, had never really dealt with pregnancies outside of a few house calls here and there. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though, and there weren't really any other doctors that would risk taking the trip out here. And she definitely couldn't risk taking the trip to them, even with the Marshal of the Crownsguard by her side.

Her point, though, was she was beginning to wear very thin and the thought of dealing with this, or worse, for three more months had her wanting to tear her hair out, no matter how luscious it'd been feeling lately.

The only glimmer of light she felt she had left was the fact that her baby could hear her now, was able to know her voice, and she spent almost all her time narrating her life, no matter how many side-eyes it gained her.

Cindy and Cor tended to find it endearing, at least. The mechanic had even fallen into the habit whenever Prompto joined her in the garage, as rare as that was these days. It amused her to no end, thinking of her baby being put to sleep like Cindy was reading a how-to manual as a bedtime story.

It tended to work, though. So much so that Prompto'd been thinking of trying to scrounge up a few for that very purpose. There had to be _some_ laying around here somewhere.

"Alright, that's it, you've been staring at the counter for the last three minutes, back to bed with you," Cor groused, draping an arm around her shoulders to lead her back towards the stairs. "You need more sleep, kid. This is a whole new level of spacey, even for you."

"Rude," Prompto huffed, indignant, but didn't argue further. She really wouldn't have had much of a leg to stand on in this instance and she knew it. "It's not like I'm choosing not to sleep. Tell this troublemaker to settle down yourself. They never listen to me."

"Listen to your mother," Cor commanded immediately, placing a hand on her belly and giving it a gentle rub. "Or you're grounded."

"You gonna send them to their _womb_?"

" _Really_ , kid?"

Prompto was still giggling when they made it back to her room, even as Cor guided her down to her bed and tucked her in. And then poked her forehead in gentle reprimand and ordered, "Sleep."

"Yes, dad," she grumbled, closing her eyes and snuggling down, never seeing the way the man's eyes widened at her words.

It wasn't until she was on the very edge of sleep minutes later that she realized she'd never gotten her damn onion.

* * *

"Oh, _Shiva's holy tits_."

Prompto froze, eyes glued to the papers spread out on the table in front of her but reading nothing, because she _knew that voice_. Had spent months in the company of that voice, laughing and yelling and fighting. Had heard that voice yell encouragements and reprimands and commands at her from across the battlefield. Had felt _safe_ with that voice.

Had been left behind and abandoned by the owner of that voice.

She took a deep breath, did her best to steady her heartbeat, could already feel the kid losing their godsdamned mind inside of her from their abrupt wake-up call due to her sudden stress, and raised her eyes.

_His hair is longer_ , was her first inane thought when her gaze landed on Gladio, standing just a few feet away from her and staring at her with his jaw hanging open like a hooked fish. _He looks thinner._

Not like that was any surprise, really. Everyone looked thinner now-a-days. And even thinner, he still seemed twice the size of everyone else.

Prompto remembered being so intimidated by his size when she was a teenager. She was tiny, had literally worked her ass off to get that way, and he was practically a giant to her. His scowling and growling and seemingly-endless bad mood hadn't helped her feel any better.

Of course, she was always seeing him when he'd been forced to track the wayward prince down and drag the moody boy off to actually see to some of his royal duties.

Now, looking at his large frame and noting all the differences, she just felt _tired_.

"Six, look at you. I didn't think she was lying but, _fuck_ , she wasn't lying. You're huge!"

Prompto hadn't seen him in five months and the first thing she was going to do was kick him in the dick.

"Really? You've been ignoring my calls for months, actual _months_ , never even checked in to make sure I was still alive, and ' _you're huge_ ' is how you wanna say hello to me?" She demanded, shoving her way to her feet and then having to stand there and sway for a moment as she waited for the static to clear from her eyes. As lightheaded as she'd been lately, quick movements like that were always a bad idea. But honestly she was far too angry to care much. "You've got to be absolutely fucking kidding me."

"That isn't what I meant!" He barked back, always on the defensive, always ready to fight back, and she was so sick and tired of it.

"I'm not going to fight with you like Noct did. I don't have the energy for that shit," she told him, narrowing her eyes when he flinched at the name. "I don't know why you're here and, frankly? I don't care. Have fun on your hunt. Maybe I'll see you again in a few months."

Her piece said, she immediately set about walking away, an action made much less dramatic by the way she had to compensate for her girth. Honestly, tucking herself away by the caravan had seemed like such a good idea earlier, a way to work with some peace and quiet, but she was really paying for it now. A quick getaway was not in the cards for her.

" _Shit_ , wait, I'm sorry," Gladio pleaded immediately, and that was enough to give her pause. Because Gladio didn't do apologies, not even when he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was in the wrong. She'd heard him say sorry maybe a handful of times since she'd met him, and most of those had been sarcastic. "I came here for you, to talk to you. And I had to see... Aranea told me. I had to come see."

"Oh," Prompto blinked in surprise before grumbling, irritation flaring again. "Aranea? What the hell! I never took her for a gossip."

"Eh, more like a mugging, honestly," Gladio shrugged, rubbing at his nose almost absently, and by the bruising she could still make out around his eyes, she could guess pretty easily what had happened.

"Yeah, that sounds more her speed," she agreed, her grin only widening when Gladio scowled at her. "She beat me to it. Honestly, if I thought I could reach without pulling something important, I'd lay you out right here." She informed him and then scoffed. " _'You're huge!'_. Gods, but you're such an asshole."

"Yeah," he agreed easily. As much as he outright refused to admit a lot of his shortcomings out loud, he'd always admitted to that much, at least. "I'd let you, too. I definitely deserve it."

"You do," she barked, and couldn't deny the satisfaction she felt when he flinched away from her tone.

A moment of silence passed between them and Prompto sighed before settling herself back down into her chair and propping her feet back up. "Sit down. My back hurts enough without having to strain it looking up at you."

He did as she ordered, almost seeming to hunch in on himself like a scolded child, and _that_ was interesting. She'd noticed, lately, that the bigger she got the more effective her reprimands were. She wouldn't have thought it'd work on Gladio but, hey, she'd take it.

"Look, Prom - "

"No, I get to talk right now and you get to listen," she spoke over him, and watched as his mouth clicked shut immediately. She could tell it was taking a lot of self control for him not to snap back at her and she honestly appreciated the effort. She wasn't going to say as much, though. He hadn't earned that from her, yet. "You _left_ me. And I could understand, alright, really I could. I was a mess and a liability and you didn't need my ass dragging you down. I get it. But then I called you, again and _again_ , and you just... Did you ever even listen to those voicemails? Did I even rate at all on your scale of importance?"

Prompto could feel her lower lip beginning to wobble, a tell-tale sign that tears were sure to follow, and Gladio clearly saw it too if the way his eyes widened in horror were any indication. And fuck, she'd wanted to stay strong for this, to stay mad, but she'd always been quick to cry and pregnancy hadn't helped that at all.

"Were you only ever my friend because of Noct? Were you ever even _my_ friend?"

"Of course I was! Like hell I'd put up with anyone just because they were Noc - ... _his_ friend."

" _Noctis_ ," she almost snarled as anger flared in her once more, causing the tears to slip down. That anger only grew when he flinched like he'd been struck. "Say his _name_ , he deserves that much respect!"

"It isn't about respect! It _hurts_ , dammit!"

"You think I don't know how much it hurts? I have his child in me!" They shouldn't be doing this out in the open, but it was too late to stop the flood of words now. She could see some of the hunters by the diner shifting uncomfortably, clearly debating if she needed them to come help her or not. And if she wasn't mistaken, that was Cor striding across the lot from the garage, Cindy only a few steps behind. "You lost your king? You lost your friend? _So did I_! I also lost my boyfriend, the love of my life! The father of my child! I'm five months pregnant and he's seen _none_ of it! I'm going to have this baby alone, without him, and he's going to come back to a fully grown kid that he doesn't even know! _If_ he comes back!"

She dragged in a sharp breath, knowing from the spots dancing in her eyes that she had to calm down. The fact that she was on her feet again, with no recollection of standing, probably wasn't helping.

"I was _alone_ , Gladio! I thought you and Iggy were my friends, that you'd be there, and you just _left_ me! I had no one, _no one_ , and now that I'm finally in a good place again you think you can just waltz back in and act like the last five months didn't happen? Well, _tough shit_!"

Prompto was full-on yelling by the end and, wow, but the world was starting to swim, she should really sit down.

"Alright, that's enough, kid, breathe with me now." And there was the Marshal, finally at her side and guiding her back to calm the way he always did. "Have a seat, will you? You shouldn't be standing right now."

"Better yet, you should be in bed, hun," Cindy cut in, and though her words were soft, the glare she was sending towards the Shield was downright murderous. "That had to've tired you out. C'mon, let's get you settled in for a nap, yeah?"

And though being herded like a moody toddler in need of naptime had her hackles wanting to rise again she followed the mechanic's lead without a fight, completely avoiding looking in Gladio's direction as she did so. She was honestly too tired for more of one, at this point.

Though she did stop just before she was out of earshot to say, "Don't kill him. If anyone deserves to do that, it's _me._ "

The grunt Cor gave back in return wasn't all too promising but she'd take what she could get.

* * *

" _You've never been alone,[λιακάδα.](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=sunshine&op=translate) Do you know? Even as bound as I am, I am with my children always. And you, every one of you, you are all my children. I love you so dearly._"

If Prompto could speak in these dreams, she would have asked what that could possibly mean. Thankfully, the voice always seemed to know anyway.

" _I am a mother,[αγαπητέ μου.](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate) A mother to all living things on this star. And _oh _, how these dark days have made me weep as so many precious lights go out. But the night is always darkest just before the dawn._ "

* * *

Hammerhead spent the next few days in an uncomfortable kind of limbo.

When Cor had come to check up on her after her shouting match with Gladio, he'd asked her straight out, in that no-nonsense way of his, if she wanted to see the Shield again. She'd given him a shaky and meek, "Not yet," and he'd taken her answer at face value and had run with it.

And Prompto hadn't seen hide nor hair of Gladio since. Oh, she knew he was still around, since Cindy seemed to have a perpetual scowl on her face these days, which was extremely out of character for the cheerful woman, not to mention he was pretty much all the hunters could talk about, horrible gossips that they were.

She couldn't help but be thankful for that bad habit, though, since their gossiping alerted her to Ignis' arrival before she had to chance confronting him, too. As all-over as her emotions were right now, that was a talk she didn't want to have yet, either. Maybe it was selfish and petty of her, to keep them waiting like this, but after five months of radio silence from them? They could fucking deal with it, as far as she was concerned.

Which was why, three days later, she froze on the stairs while on her way for a midnight snack because she could hear the both of them conversing with Cor in the kitchen. And _oh_ , she hoped for their sake that Cindy didn't know about that, because she was likely to go a bit rabid.

"We messed up, Iggs. We messed up so fucking bad," Gladio was saying, voice thick with more emotion than she'd ever heard from him.

"You're damn right you did, the both of you. What in the hell were you boys thinking?"

"I'm ashamed to admit that we likely weren't," and there was Ignis, and just the sound of his voice, tired and ragged, had her wanting to break down into tears. Because he was someone that she'd always admired, even when he'd intimidated the hell out of her, and she'd tried _so hard_ to gain his respect. And she'd thought she had, that he'd begun to see her as a friend and rely on her in turn, especially after the shitshow that was Altissia, but now? After these last few months? She wasn't so sure anymore. "It seems the both of us let our grief cloud our better judgement."

"That's one way to put it," Cor scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "And here I thought the both of you had been trained better than that."

"We were trained to protect Noctis with our lives," Ignis replied, voice tight with tension. "We were not trained how to handle failure of such."

"So, instead you just fall apart at the seams and isolate yourselves into your own personal bubbles of self-pity, is that it?" Yep, that was definitely Cor's ' _unimpressed by your_ _everything_ ' tone. "Do you think that's what I did when Mors fell? When Regis fell and Insomnia along with him? _No_. I kept moving forward because I still had a duty to the crown."

"All due respect, sir, Noctis _was_ the crown."

"And as far as Iggy and I knew, he was the last."

"Well, you both would've known before even I did that wasn't the case if you'd bothered to _pick up your phones_ ," Cor snapped at them. "What if she'd been in trouble? What if she was _dead_? And neither of you even gave a shit?"

"I cared, I did, I just... assumed it was... emotional danger, more than physical." The reluctant admission cut her deep. "Though that does not absolve me. As much pain as I felt I was in, as much as I myself may have been grieving, it was beyond wrong to turn her away like that. To call myself her friend after such actions is disrespectful to her in the extreme."

"I couldn't be her shield," Gladio admitted gruffly after a few moments of heavy silence. "I'd already failed Iggy, I'd already failed N-Noctis, I couldn't risk failing her, too. And the way she was acting back then, quiet and blank and just... jumping head long into every fight? I was gonna end up failing, sooner or later. So, I left her here. Figured she might take better care of herself with Cindy around to watch her."

Cor sighed, long and slow. "I get where you're both coming from. I do. If I didn't, we would not be having a conversation as civil as this. But running away and sticking your heads in the sand? You are the Shield and Advisor to the King of Lucis and right now you are both acting _disgraceful_. You should be ashamed of yourselves for ignoring the calls of help of a comrade, let alone someone you consider a friend. If Noctis were here right now, he would be _livid_."

Silence met his words because they all knew it to be true. Noct hadn't ever handled insults thrown at Prompto very well, from high school bullies to snobby nobles to uppity hunters. She'd always found it endearing, if sometimes frustrating. And two of his closest friends, two of the people he looked up to and respected more than anyone in the world, leaving her high and dry the way they had? Yeah, livid was a bit of an understatement.

"So, here's what's going to happen: Prompto doesn't want to see you and until she decides otherwise, she _is not going to see you_. You will not look for her, you will not talk to her. If she comes into a room you are in, you will leave. You wanted to act like she didn't exist, that's what you're going to get. And when she decides she wants to see you? You are going to be there immediately. I don't care what you're doing, I don't care where you are. You are going to drop everything and you are going to go to her. You will let her say her piece and you will accept whatever outcome she decides. Because she gets to call the shots here. Am I understood?"

His proclamation was met with two weary but genuine " _yes, sir_ 's" and Prompto felt so fucking loved and protected in that moment, down to her very core. Was this what having an overprotective dad was like? She couldn't understand how any of those girls in high school could _ever_ complain about something like this.

"Good. Now get out."

There was the soft sound of chairs scraping against the linoleum and then a continual _tap, tap_ which could only be Ignis' cane. Within moments the kitchen door opened and then closed and then there was silence for a moment before Cor let out a deep sigh.

"Alright, kid, they're gone."

Prompto couldn't even pretend to be surprised that he'd caught her, wouldn't even doubt if he'd known she was there from the get-go. Instead, she just stood slowly, more careful on the stairs, and made her way into the kitchen for that midnight snack finally. Of course, before she did that, she had to make a detour to throw her arms around Cor's broad shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her head against his, and couldn't help but snort in amusement at the way he patted her belly before wrapping his arms awkwardly around her in return. It was almost like he was trained, like his Pavlovian response every time he was presented with her stomach now was to give it some kind of gentle rub.

"You're welcome. Let me know if they bother you and I'll kick their asses."

"Thanks, dad!" She chirped, jumping away to head for the pantry. She in no way missed the way he went rigid at the term and had to stifle her laughter. She'd been doing that more and more lately, calling him ' _dad_ ', and his reactions were hilarious every single time. He was so, _so_ awkward when it came to human affection. He hadn't made any kind of effort to stop her yet, though, which was really all the permission she needed to keep at it.

Instead of mentioning it, he said, "Isn't it past your bedtime? Do I have to set a curfew? You should be asleep."

Finally grasping her prize, she turned towards him with a far more sarcastic, "Yes, _dad_ ," and took great joy in watching him wince as she bit right into a wild onion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I speak Greek? No. Am I putting it into my fic anyway? Yes. Is it probably wrong because I'm using google translate? Also yes. 
> 
> There's been a lot of comments asking if Prompto is having twins, since I've been using "they" for the baby. I hadn't meant to imply that? But I can see why a lot of you would think that. But, no, she's only having one baby! But the gender isn't known so it's just easier to use "they" for now. Sorry for the confusion!
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all liked it! Look forward to "confrontation the second" next week!
> 
> (Also I had an idea for some things a few chapters from now and I just wanted to preemptively say: I am so sorry. So, uh... look forward to that too I guess?)


	7. Month Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> confrontation the second lmao

As Prompto went into her sixth month, things around Hammerhead became... tense.

It was obvious the Hunters knew _something_ big had happened and, to absolutely no surprise from her, word of her confrontation had spread until everyone knew about it, even those who didn't actually _live_ there. Hell, she wouldn't have been shocked if Aranea showed up any day now, laughing her ass off and offering her a high five.

As embarrassing as it was, the general consensus seemed to be that Gladio was the dad and that she was pissed because he'd walked out on her. And it wasn't like she could really go out of her way to correct them, since only a select few could know about her and Noctis. The safety of her child far outweighed any pride she might have, no matter how frustrated it made her to hold her tongue.

So, she'd taken to avoiding HQ as often as possible and not just so she wouldn't accidentally run into her fellow Crowsguard. The last time she'd gone in there, she'd almost broken a few noses. So, best for all around if she steered clear for now.

It didn't help that Gladio had become a legend in his own right. Dude had definitely been busy the last few months. The way she heard it, it seemed like almost every hunter had a story of how he'd saved their lives or the life of one of their buddies. And apparently most of the civilians evacuated to Lestallum owed him their lives, too.

Which just pissed Prompto off more, even as it made her want to hug him tight. Because what was all that shit he'd spewed about not being a good enough shield? As if he'd ever stopped.

And then there was Ignis. The man honestly didn't do much around Hammerhead but wander, likely trying to get more of a bearing for his surroundings, and the few glimpses she'd caught of him ambling about with his cane tapping away honestly made her want to sit down and cry for a bit. It'd been almost a year since he'd lost his sight but that still didn't make it any easier to accept. And she didn't even know how well he was coping with it; wouldn't know unless she asked him and she still wasn't quite ready for that yet.

According to Cindy, the man's phone had been damn near ringing off the hook since he'd arrived and every convoy from Lestallum brought with it several messages pleading for his return. It didn't shock her that Ignis had somehow become the pseudo-leader of the city, nor that they seemed to be falling apart without him. And even from a distance she could see how it weighed on him, all that responsibility.

Still, he stayed, never even seemed to debate going back. Prompto would let him, if he chose to. She'd let Gladio leave, too. It'd hurt, she couldn't deny that, but times were both metaphorically and literally dark and the both of them were experts in their fields. She knew it was beyond selfish of her to keep them just waiting around in limbo like this, but...

"But nothin', hun," Cindy assured her when she brought it up one night during dinner. Prompto's eating habits had been flip-flopping a lot lately. Either she wanted to shove everything into her face or she was dreading the heartburn too much to eat a single bite. "Those boys know they done wrong by you, pregnant or not, an' they're makin' up for it the only way they know how. Gonna take a lot more than sittin' around a few days, I tell you what."

Prompto snorted, dropping her spoon. She'd managed a few bites, enough to satisfy any hunger, but beans were definitely not the best bet right now. Not that she could afford to be picky, these days. "Damn right about that. But... I do miss them. I just... I don't want to just cry at them, you know? And that's what I'd do if we talked now, I just know it."

"Oh, honey, you're gonna cry at them no matter what." Prompto had no idea how Cindy managed to look both full of pity and unsympathetic at once. "I know you're frustrated with it but it's just how it is. Those boys _hurt_ you. An' the longer this goes on the more that hurt's gonna stew in you. Course, they can definitely stand to wait a bit more, take your time, now."

Prompto remembers back when she thought Cindy was nothing but a cheerfully benevolent grease monkey goddess. Now she knew the other to be extremely petty and vindictive when the situation called for it.

It warmed her heart right through to know that a slight against her called for it.

Still, the mechanic did have a point. The longer she put this off the wider the chasm between them all seemed to grow. She didn't want them out of her life. She wanted them to be here to hold her hand when she was lonely, to comfort her when the future became too scary, to reassure her during her many, many moments of uncertainty.

Prompto wanted to laugh with them again, to be with them again. They were her friends, her brothers, the only family she'd known since she was a teenager. Hell, maybe they were the only family she'd _ever_ really known. And what they'd done had hurt, more than any lonely dinner in an empty house ever had as a child.

But she'd forgive them. She already knew in her heart that she would. And it honestly pissed her off a little because Cindy was also right. Waiting around a few days was a pretty weak way of atoning for months of hurt.

"I want to talk to them," Prompto told Cor the next night. Meeting in the kitchen in the middle of the night had kind of become a regular thing, as of late. The baby had her up at all hours of the night, having what felt like a dance party on her bladder, and if she was going to be up anyway she might as well be doing something useful. She didn't know if the Marshal had spent his time here before or if he'd started so that he could keep an eye on her but either way she appreciated the man's company. "Both of them."

"You sure?" He asked, barely looking up from the map on the table in front of him to raise an eyebrow at her. At her determined nod he just shrugged. "Whenever you want to, then. Just let me know."

Whenever she wanted to ended up being three days later after an emergency distress call pulled all available hunters, including a reluctant Gladio and Cor, out to Duscae. The group that came back was worn down and two short and Prompto had spent the rest of the day fretting over the Marshal, even though the man had probably been the safest out of all the hunters that'd gone.

She decided to meet with Gladio and Ignis the next day, after giving the Shield a chance to rest up a bit. Missions were getting more and more dangerous as more daemons seemed to spawn with each passing day. The two hunters that'd fallen during this outing hadn't been novices. They'd both had a rank of 8 and they'd both been in as tip top shape as anyone could be these days. And they'd still died.

Gladio could die any day. All it took was one accident. Hadn't this entire situation taught her that much?

So, no more putting it off.

That didn't exactly make her nerves any better. Prompto didn't know why she was suddenly so anxious about this, jiggling her knee as she sat waiting at Cindy's kitchen table. She felt like she was waiting to be called into the principal's office, which was _stupid_ because she wasn't in trouble. If anyone was the principal in this scenario it was her!

And then the side door opened and Ignis was tapping his way through, Gladio's bulk a step behind, and she felt like she couldn't get a full breath, suddenly.

Not that she'd been able to for weeks _anyway_ , but that was besides the point.

Because how long had it been since the three of them were in a room together? _Gods_ , but it had been _months_. Actual months. The only proof she needed of that was to look at her own distended stomach.

She said nothing as Gladio helped Iggy take a seat, just observed them. Gladio looked rough, face bruised and lip split. There were bandages peaking out from beneath his sleeve but he didn't seem to be moving carefully so she hoped his injuries were minimal. Ignis looked like he hadn't slept once since the last time she'd seen him but, given the way Lestallum seemed to be caving in without him she wasn't super surprised. He'd always been one to run himself ragged when he was stressed. And if this wasn't a time of stress for everyone, she didn't know what was.

She could tell by the furrow in his brow that he was wishing he could observe her back, the way Gladio was. It had to be frustrating, going from being able to pick up on tells in an instant to not being able to see a damn thing. And she didn't know how he had coped, _if_ he had coped, because she hadn't been there while he did. She had no idea if he'd retaught himself to pick up tells in other little ways, had no idea how he went about his daily life without sight, had no idea how he'd adjusted himself beyond what she'd seen in Gralea and the few fraught days they'd spent making their way back to Lucis.

Prompto had no idea if he'd completely changed. Had no idea if Gladio had changed.

Suddenly, sitting there before two men she would've called family just minutes ago, she felt like she didn't know them at all.

"Ah, _fuck_ , kid," Gladio suddenly grimaced, looking like he was holding himself back from reaching for her.

"Is that...?" Ignis asked softly, seeming to lightly sniff at the air, and then, "Oh, _Prompto_."

And, yep, she hadn't even made it to the talking part and she was already crying. Godsdammit it all.

"Shut up," she blubbered, wiping angrily at her face. Was it too much to ask to keep her stupid emotions in check for like ten godsdamned minutes? "Shut up, it's fine, I'm _fine_!"

"No, you aren't," Ignis breathed, hand reaching across the table in search of her, and she'd never been one to deny his rare displays of affection, couldn't even now when she was so mad at him. He squeezed gently once he held her hand in his. "I don't think you've been okay for quite some time, dear one. And I am so sorry we've left you to carry it alone."

"And you were right," Gladio told her, eyes down in shame, and it wasn't even said grudgingly. "We might've been hurting but so were you. Maybe we had to go our separate ways to cope but we never should've just cut you off like that. I just... thinking of you and Iggy always leads back to thinking about him and... it was just easier to block it all out and focus on hunting. I took the easy way out, like a coward, and I will always be sorry for the way I hurt you because of it."

"It was so much easier to dedicate myself to organizing refugees than to contemplate Noctis' absence. And you, Prompto, you have always held his heart, from the moment he met you. As Gladio said, any thought of you invariably led back to him and... I admit that my weakness overcame my better judgement. While it is no excuse, and I would not blame you if you turned me away, know that I am prepared to do whatever it takes to apologize for my appalling actions. You are my friend and I should have never treated you as anything but. I am sorry."

And then, as one, they both stood and bowed their heads to her. And Prompto...

She'd never had anyone do this for her before. Her and Noct had had their disagreements, even a few fights back in high school where they'd go a few days without speaking. But Prompto was usually always the one to cave and apologize, not being able to stand the thought of not having him in her life, and the instant she did he'd always deflate and immediately begin insisting that he was the one in the wrong all along. They'd talk it out together, figure out what went wrong and if there was a middle ground, and then they'd move on.

Her parents had apologized a few times when she'd been younger, but it had always been followed up with some kind of statement about how they were only gone so much so they could provide for _her_ , so they could make money to support _her_ , and it wasn't like she could throw that back in their faces by complaining, right? No matter how much it might've hurt.

And, yeah, she'd always been quick, maybe _too_ quick, to forgive any slight against her. She'd never held onto her anger for this long before and maybe that had driven home for them just how badly they'd hurt her. Or maybe they'd have done this anyway, even if she'd spoken to them days ago. Either way, here they both were, bowing their heads to her in apology, and she had absolutely no idea how to respond to it. And so she did the only thing she could.

She burst into more tears.

"Gods, you both are so fucking stupid!" She wailed, ignoring the way they both jerked like they'd been hit. "I'm glad you're sorry, I'm glad you know what you did wasn't right, but bowing isn't what I want from you! I want my _friends back_!"

Gladio shifted, lifting his head hesitantly, while Ignis stayed determinedly at a ninety-degree angle. She went on before either could say anything. She wasn't done yet.

"Do you know how scared I've been? This world is _shit_ and I'm bringing a baby into it! _Noct's_ baby! Heir to the Lucian throne! And I was alone, with no one, and I couldn't even talk to either of you, couldn't even get reassurance! I needed to know that if I had this child that they'd be safe, that they'd have people looking out for them, that it wouldn't be just me. Because I'm _nothing_ , I've never been _anything_ , I couldn't protect Noct, I couldn't even protect myself! I let that asshole capture me and Noct got sucked into that _stupid fucking crystal_ and he never would've been there if it weren't for me! How the _fuck_ am I supposed to look after his child when I'm the reason he's gone in the first place?!"

Prompto heaved for breath as stunned silence met her words, curling over her stomach like she could protect the life growing there by that action alone, and _gods_ but did she wish it was that simple.

"I'll make a mistake, I know I will, I always do and I'm going to screw it all up! They'll get hurt, or worse, and it'll be all my fault and then Noct will be gone and our child will be gone and _I'll_ _have nothing left_!"

"Alright, kid, I need you to breathe with me now," and there was Cor, suddenly cradling her face in his palms, and when had he gotten here? But she was sobbing too much to ask, too much to even try to follow his directions, and her chest _hurt_.

Because those fears had been circling in Prompto's brain since she'd seen those damning two pink lines and with every day that passed without word from Ignis or Gladio they'd only grown. Because the two obviously knew what a wreck Prompto was, given the way they'd dropped her like a hot potato, and they had to know her guilt in Noct's disappearance, too. He'd gone to the Keep for her and he'd never left it, even while she'd walked out of it under her own power. She'd led him there and then _left_ him there.

She couldn't protect him, couldn't save him, even though she'd tried so hard to. And maybe he'd come back tomorrow, maybe he'd come back in a year, but maybe he wouldn't ever come back at all.

How was she supposed to raise their child knowing that? How was she supposed to hold them in her arms and know that their only line of protection in this new world of darkness was _her_ , when she'd already screwed up so badly?

Having Cor around helped, lifted a weight from her shoulders, because Prompto wasn't dependable but the Marshal sure as fuck was. But he was still just one man, Immortal epitaph or no, and there was only so much he could do. Would it be enough to counteract her own inability?

Gladio was Noct's Shield, Ignis his Advisor, and she'd...

"I _needed_ you! Please, I can't do this on my own, I can't do this with just me, I'll mess up, I need you to make sure I don't mess up! I need you to _protect_ them because I _can't,_ please, please, _please_."

"You have us," Ignis' voice promised solemnly, and though she couldn't see him at all because her eyes were so blurry, she knew the arm wrapping around her heaving shoulders belonged to him. "You'll _always_ have us, from now until the end."

"We won't leave you again," and there was Gladio, his giants arms coming to hold her from her other side, his scruffy beard tickling as he laid his head against hers and held on tight. " _Never_ again. I will do whatever it takes to make sure you and that kid are happy and healthy and safe."

And sitting in Cindy's kitchen in the arms of two men she'd been missing for six months, she wasn't sure how much she believed them. Wasn't sure how much trust she could put into their words, not after everything.

But breathing came a bit easier, all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompto needs all the hugs in the world and she needs them right NOW
> 
> This one's a bit late. I meant to post it last night after I got home from work but then I made the mistake of laying down in bed. And then I passed tf out for 10 hours oops 
> 
> So, here we are! Better late than never! 
> 
> Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed it! See ya next week!


	8. Month Seven

"Doesn't that hurt?"

Gladio's question, when it came, was horrified and Prompto couldn't help but snicker. It'd been a few days since her blow up in the kitchen and she'd leveled out a lot since then. Apparently keeping all of your deepest darkest fears bottled up for months on end could really take a toll on you. Who knew?

Ever since, Ignis and Gladio had been near constant companions. Both of them still had their own tasks to do; Ignis was still taking calls from Lestallum what seemed hourly and Gladio was still going on runs with the other hunters. But they both stuck by her side as much as they were able, always volunteering to fetch whatever she needed, insisting that she stay off her feet. They'd taken to practically herding her whenever she ignored them and chose to walk on her own and she knew she'd be getting annoyed with it in the coming weeks, this nonstop hovering, but for now she found it endearing and just basked in it. Being able to see them all the time helped to remind her that they were really _here_. And while she still had moments when she wanted nothing more than to scream and punch them in the face still, it was getting easier.

They were working on it.

At the moment they were sitting outside, at the table by the camper once more. Prompto had her shirt - really, it was Cor's shirt, as hers had long since stopped fitting comfortably at this point - pulled up a bit so that her belly was out in the open air and her little one was visibly having a ball inside of her, if the constant shifting of her stomach was anything to go by.

She had to admit, from an outside prospective it probably looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. She'd become desensitized to it, though, and could only feel relief and joy whenever she saw it, proof that her child was alive and well within her.

"Not really," she shrugged, even as she winced at a particularly intense jab that had her stomach bowing outwards. Gladio's eyes widened at the movement and he honestly looked seconds away from calling for Cor. She couldn't help but snicker at his panic. Hadn't he witnessed something like this before Iris was born? "Really, this is normal for them. I mean, yeah, pretty much every part of me is sore at this point but according to Eliana that's more due to the weight than anything. They're a little over two pounds, now, and it's resting right on my hips and spine. And the more they grow, the more they're shoving my insides around to make room."

Okay, so maybe that wasn't super comforting to hear, if the way the Shield went faintly green meant anything, but whatever. It was what it was and, when she wasn't getting frustrated at her body's limitations given her increasing girth and all the downsides that came with it, she'd more or less accepted it.

"Can you describe it?" Ignis asked, leaning forward in his seat in obvious interest, and just the question itself and how easily it came showed how much progress he'd made. The Ignis of a year ago would have asked it reluctantly, grudgingly, ashamed of the fact that he needed help with even something so simple. Now, he'd learned a lot of what he could and couldn't do and he'd made up for almost all of it in his own way. What couldn't be made up he'd learned to ask for, without shame or embarrassment.

"I'll do you one better," Prompto offered instead of voicing any of that. He let her grab hold of his hand, didn't resist at all as she pulled him forward so that she could place it against her tummy. As if sensing that all attention was on them, her little one chose that moment to kick out, and Ignis flinched in response, a sharp breath hissing through his teeth.

"Surely, that mustn't be comfortable for you," he said, arguing her earlier statement, even as his brows furrowed in concentration and his other hand came up to join the first, smoothing across her taught skin. It felt good, honestly, and so she did nothing to stop him, content to let him feel the baby move about.

"I never said it was _comfortable_ ," she snorted. Prompto didn't think she'd been truly comfortable in at least the last three months. "My ribs are shifting out, I can't lay on my back without feeling lightheaded, there's constant pressure on my back and my lungs. Eating means heartburn, not eating means nausea. My boobs have literally never been bigger and I hate it. Things are starting to leak. And don't even get me started on the whole _fake contractions_ deal."

Here she paused and shrugged, more amused than anything as both men looked more and more uncomfortable with every word out of her mouth. Hey, she was living it, they could deal with listening to her complain a bit.

"But I'm not _in pain_. Sore, yeah, tired all the time, sure, but not in pain."

That, at least, seemed to console them. And if Gladio seemed half ill, half in awe when he took his turn stroking her belly? Well, she was nice enough not to call him out on it.

* * *

"Shiva's frozen tits, Blondie, it's been two months! You look like you swallowed a watermelon!"

"Hi, Aranea, it's so good to see you, I've been doing well, thanks for asking!"

The mercenary didn't even have the decency to look sheepish as she strode up to Prompto's side, only giving an unrepentant shrug, though Prompto wasn't surprised. Aranea had never really been one to regret her words, especially when they all knew they were true.

Didn't mean Prompto liked having it pointed out. She hadn't been this round since she was twelve and, yeah, she wasn't that chubby little kid anymore and pregnancy was way different than obesity, but it was hard to convince herself of that at times. Especially since literally none of her clothes fit anymore and she went around wearing t-shirts and sweatpants donated by the boys, more often than not.

Hey, she'd never claimed to be logical, alright? Far from it.

"It really is good to see you," she said after sighing. "And I wanted to thank you. Gladio said you were the one that got his ass in gear."

"Idiot shouldn't have needed it to begin with. Punching him felt good, though."

Prompto couldn't help but grin. She was well on her way to forgiving the both of them, true, but she'd never claimed not to be a little vindictive, either. "I'll bet. Gotta admit, I was a little jealous."

"I can hold him down so you can reach," the Dragoon offered, only half-joking. "Specs, too. Those two boys deserve a lot worse than that from you."

"Thanks," Prompto smiled, genuinely touched. She and Aranea may have been thrown together in Niflheim under chaotic and down-right weird circumstances but she couldn't help but be kind of glad for it, despite all the pain that she'd felt at the time. The other woman might be intense and stand-off-ish and more than a little awkward when it came to dealing with people she actually kind of cared about but she was also a good person, no matter how much she'd deny it. Prompto was glad she could call the other a friend. "Really. But... we're working on it. Maybe I'll take you up on it after I get this one out of me, so I can really put my all into it."

"Suit yourself. Speaking of faces you wanna punch, though, where is Specs anyway? Got a message for him from Lestallum. I swear, those idiots have been running around like headless chickatrice since he left."

"Oh! He's in the dinner, I think he was helping plan the next food run." Prompto winced, guilty. The only reason Iggy was still here was because of her and, if the way he'd been acting was any indication, the man had no plans to leave any time soon. Was that really okay, though? She wanted him here, definitely, and having him go would cut her deep but... Lestallum was one of the last true safe havens left in this world of theirs. There were probably hundreds if not thousands of people stuffed into their walls right now, all desperate to survive, and if things fell apart there all because she'd selfishly made Ignis stay here with her?

The guilt would eat her alive.

"Tch, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, kid, but whatever it is you can knock it right the hell off," Aranea commanded, reaching forward to flick her in the forehead too quickly for Prompto to even react beyond a flinch. "Lestallum'll be fine. They wouldn't have made it this far if the loss of one guy could topple the whole thing. They're just being babies because now they've got to do all that work themselves instead of dumping it all on Speccy."

"You're right, I know, I'm just... being stupid."

Aranea snorted. "Like that's new. C'mon, let's go grab him. You look like you could use a break yourself."

The mercenary wasn't wrong. Prompto's feet and back had been twinging with increased ferocity over the last hour but she was determined to get these crates of curatives sorted. She couldn't do much, now-a-days, but she could and _would_ do this.

"You go ahead. I'm almost done."

A sigh, seeming to come from the depths of Aranea's very soul. "Whatever, kid. Don't come cryin' to me when you've got three idiots on your case later."

With that, the Dragoon strode away in her usual abrupt manor without a single word of farewell. Prompto might see her again later, she might not, but either way she couldn't help but smile. It was kind of endearing, the way Aranea seemed to almost not know what to do with her. The other woman obviously cared, wouldn't check on Prompto as soon as she arrived in Hammerhead every time if she didn't, but it was clear that affection didn't come easy to her. That was okay, though.

Prompto tried to reign her attention back in towards the task at hand, but it seemed that no matter how stubborn she was, she might be doomed to failure in this instance as she felt her stomach begin to tighten uncomfortably. She'd been experiencing Braxton Hicks for long enough now that they didn't send her spiraling into a panic the way they first had but that didn't necessarily make them feel any better.

Most of the time she could power through it. More often then not they just felt like mild cramps and she'd experienced enough of those since puberty that they didn't really trip her up. Sometimes, though, like now, they'd feel just a little bit too much.

She gasped, grabbing hold of the crate in front of her, and cursed the fact that she hadn't thought to bring a chair over when she felt her knees wobble a little. The feeling didn't take long to pass but it left her feeling breathless and weak and ready for a nap. She knew if she tried making it back on her own, especially up the stairs to her room, she'd have three - maybe four, if Cindy wasn't too busy tinkering about in the garage - overprotective nannies breathing down her neck and waiting on her hand and foot for the rest of the day.

Groaning, she pulled out her phone. Still, she couldn't deny the thrill she felt every time someone on the other end answered.

* * *

The day - so much as there ever was a _day_ , anymore - had started out fairly normal.

Prompto had woken early after a night of restless sleeping with the undeniable urge to pee. After that was taken care of, she'd waddled her way through dressing for the day in a pair of Cor's sweatpants and one of Gladio's shirts, though even that was beginning to stretch over her growing stomach. After, she swept her hair, now almost grown down to her hips, into a messy bun at the back of her head, too exhausted to put much more effort into it.

She made her slow and careful way down the stairs, thinking again about how she'd probably have to switch rooms with someone soon since she didn't see stairs continuing to be too possible for her in the near future, and into the kitchen, ready for a breakfast of oatmeal and maybe - _maybe_ \- she'd even allow herself a glass of milk.

What greeted her was a room full of tense and deathly silence.

Cor was standing in the corner by the stove, obviously having been in the middle of making his own meal, though it seemed to be completely forgotten now. Gladio was sitting so far forward in his chair that she was actually a little surprised he hadn't fallen out of it, yet, and Ignis was holding his phone to his ear hard enough that his knuckles were turning white.

"And you're sure? You're absolutely _sure_?" He was asking whoever was on the line, sounding more desperate than she'd heard him in a long time.

"What's going on?" She asked, and the anxious feeling in her gut only grew when no one even seemed to react. "What's happening?"

"And how far out are you? I see. We'll await you here at Hammerhead."

The phone was summarily placed on the table, face down, like even blind Ignis couldn't risk the chance of looking at it. Complete silence descended and Prompto was honestly seconds away from either throwing the fit of the ages or falling into a panic attack when Ignis took a bracing breath.

"That was one of the hunters who went on today's run, Agoston. He said they... found something unexpected out at Galdin. Someone."

"A survivor?" Prompto asked, more than a little surprised. "After all this time? Galdin was one of the worst places hit."

"Not... exactly." Ignis' words were choppy, like he was forcing them out, and Prompto was becoming more and more confused. What could possibly have happened to make him act like this? To have Cor standing so straight he looked seconds away from putting his fist to his chest and standing at attention? To have Gladio look ready to burst out his own skin? "He was wandering the road nearby, making his way here already. They weren't certain at first but... he said his name was..."

"Said _what_? Seriously, what the _hell_ is going on?!" She snapped, finally at the end of her patience.

"He said his name was Noctis. He said his name was Noctis Lucis Caelum."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> See ya next week!


	9. Interlude 2

For a time, Noctis drifted.

He didn't know how long, really. Time felt like it no longer existed, like each second that passed could be a heartbeat or an eternity. He dreamed, now and then, of peaceful times and painful times. He saw his father through the eyes of an adoring child and of a distant adult. He saw himself stand on the Citadel stairs and scoff at his father's words of farewell, turn with a careless wave and leave, not once looking back, and he felt _regret_.

He saw Gladio, his sworn Shield, as a grumpy teenager who looked down his nose and as the man who stood strong, willing to take any blow in his place. He saw Ignis, his Advisor and Right Hand, as an overly formal child afraid of misstepping and as the man who doted on him, who looked after him and cared for him and guided him in every way he could, who always stood faithfully at his back.

He saw Prompto, his best friend, the girl he loved with his whole heart, the one he'd fight the entire world for if she only asked. He saw her as the quiet, chubby girl she'd been in elementary, shying away but always there in his periphery. He saw her laughing face, lit up with joy, saw the horror in her eyes as she realized their home really was gone. So many little moment with her, all held dear to him. The first time he'd kissed her, after a hard study session where she'd called herself _useless_ and _stupid_ like she wasn't the only reason he smiled every day. The first time they'd made love, in a dingy hotel room in Old Lestallum, and the way she held him so tightly like she was terrified he'd leave her behind if she let go. The way she'd looked at him, that night in Zegnautus Keep, like she was in awe that he'd still want her, still love her, after everything that had happened.

He saw others, too, brief glances, memories that flitted in and out of his mind. Iris, smiling wide to show off the gap of her lost tooth. Talcott, cheering and looking on the verge of tears as he was presented with a new cactuar figurine. Cor, looking stern and imposing as always, but hands gentle as they guided him through another kata. Claurus, always a step behind his father, looking equal parts exasperated and exhausted. Cindy, appraising the Regalia's condition, Cid, complaining about his bad back, Takka, flinching at their arrival but offering them warm smiles and warm food.

More and more, he remembered. That was all that he could do here, after all. Just remember and wait.

Wait for what? He wasn't sure. Was he sure? Did he know?

Maybe. The memory would come, if he did. All memories would come, eventually.

So he stayed, and he remembered, and he didn't know anything else.

Did he exist, here? Was he real, here? Was anything? Had it ever been?

Did it matter?

He drifted.

* * *

Something changed.

It started slowly, so slowly that Noctis barely even realized it at first. But change didn't happen, not here in this place. There was drifting, and memories, and reflection. That was it, that was all he could say with certainty existed. But then something _changed_.

It was a sound, soft and fluttering and barely heard but constant. As seconds or maybe ages passed it became louder and louder and more real, thumping, thumping, thumping...

A heartbeat, he realized after awhile. It sounded like a heartbeat. But whose? His? Surely not. He wasn't real here, after all. Did he even exist? Had he ever?

And then voices, eventually. Distant and unreachable. He wanted to call out for them but couldn't. This was a time for reflection, not a time for words. He was to stay here, in this place, until the Ring had absorbed the Crystal's power and then he would face the Accursed, make right what had been made wrong, save his kingdom from never-ending night, and then he would die. The memory of Bahamut saying as much came suddenly, as they all seemed to, disjointed and out of order.

He knew the memory would come. They all did, eventually.

That didn't explain the voices, though. They weren't part of his memories, he knew that much. They weren't the voices of the gods, either.

He waited, as that was all he could do, as second by second or age by age the voices grew louder, clearer, until finally -

"You are your father's kid, you know that? Keep me up all hours of the night but the moment I want to spend time with you it's nap time, huh?"

 _Prompto_.

That was Prompto's voice, soft and full of love and affection, and just hearing it was like breaking the surface of a deep ocean. He felt like he'd been drowning, endlessly, but her voice was a lifeline, bringing him back to air.

It continued on and every time she spoke, he felt closer to being real. He did exist. He was alive. And Prompto was waiting for him.

She said as much, many times.

"Noct would love you so much, you know? Gods, but he'd be even more of a wreck than me if he was here." A wet laugh, like she was close to tears, and he _hurt_. "He'd be trailing me around like a lost puppy, he'd be so scared I'd get hurt somehow. He was always so protective of me. He'll probably go feral over you."

"I wish he was here. I wish you could meet him, could hear his voice, too. I want you to know him."

"Gods, Noct, please. I can't do this without you. Please, please, _please_."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. It was my fault, I know it was, but please come back."

" _Noctis_. Say his _name,_ he deserves that much respect!"

"What am I gonna do, huh, little one?"

"C'mon, just a few hours. I know you're ready to move around but mama's _tired_."

"I'll make a mistake, I know I will, I always do and I'm going to screw it all up!"

"There's not much time left, Noct, _please_."

Prompto was calling to him. She was calling out to him, crying and desperate and she needed him. What was the power of the Ring, the Crystal, a power greater than that of the Six in the face of that?

Nothing. That power was nothing.

He had to leave, he had to get out. He had to go to her. He _had_ to.

He couldn't allow himself to drift any longer.

_"The light does not yet wax full. Your downfall will be your own doing."_

* * *

Noctis wasn't sure what woke him but, the moment that he realizes he was asleep enough _to_ be awoken, he comes to all at once.

He's in a dark cell, sitting up with his hands clasped between his knees, and he feels both exhausted and like he's bursting at the seems with energy. He wants to lay back down on the stone cot he's sat on, close his eyes and go to sleep, but he can't. He knows he can't. There's something far more important that he has to do. Something...

A dog is barking.

He jerks, eyes snapping towards the sound, and finds that he's not in a cell after all, as there's no door keeping him locked within. He can't help but feel grateful. He doesn't know if he'd be capable of breaking out right now.

Still, he forces himself to his feet and makes his stumbling way towards the barking, already knowing deep down that he'll see Umbra upon exiting.

"Hey, boy," Noctis rasps, throat scratchy like he hasn't spoken in days. And who knows, maybe he hasn't, maybe it's been even longer than that. Still, he kneels, ruffling Umbra's fur before taking the letter grasped gently in the dog's teeth.

It's Prompto's handwriting, no doubt about it, and he has no idea how it's here, or why, but he isn't about to question it. It tells him what he needs to know, where he needs to go, and that's all that matters.

"Be waiting... in Hammerhead."

* * *

Time seemed to be passing both too quickly and too slowly.

One moment he was making his way through the abandoned resort, trying desperately not to look too hard at the clothes scattered about the floor, the next he was sitting in the back of a truck headed straight for Hammerhead while the hunters around him crowed in excitement and the driver spoke urgently into his phone.

Noctis assumed they'd called one of the others, probably Ignis or Gladio, but he only shook his head when the driver turned to hand him the phone. He wanted to talk to them, _gods_ , did he ever. But... he wanted to see them more. He wanted to see their faces and hear their voices and be able to touch them and know that this was real, that _he_ was real.

In the meantime, he tried his best to pay attention to the hunters sitting in the back with him. "So, how long's it been?"

"Since the sun went down and decided not to come back up? About eight months."

" _Eight months?!_ "

"Yeah, you've been gone a while. Whole world's gone to shit in the meantime. Daemons have taken over, as you can see," the man next to him, a formerly retired hunter who'd introduced himself as Gavin, gestured around them. On either side of the road, daemons roamed freely. "Most towns and outposts have been overtaken, only a few left outside of Lestallum. That's where most have gone now-a-days."

"Ignis was there helping organize up until about a month ago," another jumped in, nodding along. "He and the big guy, Gladio, showed up pretty much outta nowhere. Thought the Marshal was gonna take 'em out back and hide 'em six feet under, no daemons necessary."

Gavin snorted in clear agreement. "Haven't seen him that mad in a good while, that's for sure. Them boys messed up big time. Makin' up for it, though."

"Ignis and Gladio?" Noctis asked, blinking in confusion. Gladio, he could get. The man was stubborn at the worst of times and if Noctis had really been gone for months? Yeah, the Shield probably hadn't coped well with that. Ignis, though? As much as he knew his advisor cared for him, he'd always thought the man would power through more than anything. "Why's that?"

"Well, I'd be spittin' mad, too, if they up an' left my girl pregnant in the middle of nowhere!" Gavin huffed, true annoyance in his voice, and Noctis blinked because -

" _What?_ "

"The Marshal's got a soft spot for Prompto that runs about five miles wide. I'd swear up and down he's her dad, if they looked anything alike at all."

"And them boys left her in Hammerhead, alone, until he got there. And then had the nerve to show up as they pleased!"

"Now, now, you know Prom's happy they're around. Haven't seen her this happy in... ever, really."

"Yeah, yeah, point is, Cor was about baying for their blood for a long while and Miss Cindy wasn't far behind. Them boys are lucky Prompto loves 'em so much, cause trust me, they'd be hurtin' if she didn't."

Noctis was trying to follow along, really he was, but his mind just kept circling back to that one word over and over and over and _oh_ , there was that panic he'd been waiting for since docking in Galdin.

" _Pregnant_?" He finally choked out and both men snapped their eyes right to him. "Prompto's pregnant?"

"Sure is," Gavin agreed, and now he looked wary, like he was speaking to a wild animal. "Almost in her eighth month, I'd reckon, given her size."

Prompto was pregnant. Prompto was almost eight months pregnant and Noctis had been gone for eight months and the last night they'd been together he hadn't used any protection at all, hadn't even thought about it, and he was going to hyperventilate right here in the back of this truck.

"We're here!" The driver called out, voice barely heard over the clanging of metal gates opening, and then they were pulling into the lot of Hammerhead and Noctis was looking up and -

There, across the lot, was Prompto, and for a moment it felt like he couldn't even breathe.

Because she was beautiful, more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen before, almost seemed to be glowing. Even as she tried her best to waddle his way faster and almost stumbled, even as tears and snot flooded her red face, even if she was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that barely seemed to stretch over her rounded stomach.

And then he was practically warping to her, catching her up into his arms, and she smelled just like she always did, even after eight months, and then he was crying right along with her.

" _Prom_ , Prompto, you're _here_."

" _I'm_ here?" She demanded, voice shaky, as she shoved her face into his neck. " _You're_ here! You're here, you're actually here!"

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'm here."

He tried to hold her tighter, hold her closer, but her stomach was having none of that. And then he could feel something within it moving and, _oh_.

"You're really..." He trailed off, taking a reluctant step back so that he could look down at her. And there really wasn't any denying it. Her stomach was obviously swollen. "Is it really...?"

"Of course, you idiot," she scoffed, but she didn't sound mad about the question, if anything she just looked grateful that he was there to voice it. "Of course it's yours. Whose else would it be?"

"I know, I know, just," he took an unsteady breath and, with one more look at her face to be sure, placed his hands on her belly. The skin beneath shifted immediately in response and she hiccuped out a wet laugh. It was the best sound he thought he'd ever heard.

"We just got up not too long ago. They're wide awake and ready to go," she told him, cupping his hands to her as if she never wanted him to let go. Like he would, at this point. "They definitely take more after me, in that case."

He nodded, hearing her words but more focused on the movement continuing under his hands because... that was a baby. That was their baby.

"We're having a baby," he stated, feeling so much panic and elation at once that he'd almost circled right around to numb. "We're having a baby!"

The look on Prompto's face was pure fond indulgence and the snorts of amusement that met his words clearly weren't coming from her. Finally managing to tear his eyes away - a true feat, really, since she was pretty much all he ever wanted to look at for the rest of his life - he found the rest of his retinue waiting more or less patiently at the side.

"Hey," Gladio greeted when Noctis caught his eye and, if the Shield looked like he was about to start bawling any minute, neither of them mentioned it. "Took you long enough, you laze-about. Enjoy the nap?"

"Really, Gladio, already with the teasing?" Ignis cut in, exasperated, but honestly the both of them just looked so happy it was almost enough to take his breath away. "It is truly good to hear your voice once again, your Highness."

"Indeed," and there was the Marshal, back straight and face as imposing as ever, but there was a softness in his eyes when they drifted towards Prompto and, wow, those hunters really hadn't been lying about that. "We've been awaiting your return."

There was a loud gurgle before any more words could be spoken and all eyes went to Prompto, who reddened immediately under the attention. "What? I haven't had breakfast yet, _okay_? I'm eating for two here, give me a break!"

The moment broke and Noctis found himself laughing, free and full of joy in a way he hadn't been since before Altissia. "Alright, alright, I've kept the lady waiting long enough."

"That's for damn sure," she grinned back at him, eyes shinning, but there was absolutely no anger in her tone. "C'mon, you can make me eggs. I more than deserve it after a morning like this!"

"Whatever you want," he agreed sweeping into the kind of obnoxious bow that always got her laughing, and took the chance while he was there to press a kiss to her abdomen. There was a baby in there. _Their_ baby!

He'd give her the whole damn world if she asked it of him, so long as he never had to let her go again.

Compared to that, eggs were easy.

* * *

_Noctis drifted._

_Something about that wasn't right, but he didn't know what. He'd always been here, hadn't he? Had he?_

_Was he real? Was any of this real? Had it ever been?_

_Did it matter?_

_He drifted on within the void because that was all that he could do, all that he would ever do, until -_

_There was humming, a soft melodic noise, a tune he knew to the very core of him but one he would swear he'd never heard before. He didn't understand. There was no humming in this place. There were no sounds, especially ones of comfort. There were memories, and reflection, and drifting. That was it. So, what -?_

_"Oh, my King of Light."_

_The voice that spoke started gentle, like the dawn breaking after a long night. Between one word and the next, though, it became harsh like the blazing hot sun in Leide on a summer day._

_" **Wake up.** "_

Noctis jolted, coming to all at once with a harsh gasp of breath, already reaching out to the girl at his side as panic ran through him. Except the bed beside him was empty and cold.

Heart pounding, he hurried to sit up, gaze sweeping the room, but it was so dark that he couldn't see a thing. And that... that wasn't right. Because they'd gone to bed with the curtains open, Prompto explaining how seeing the bright lights from the parking lot helped her to sleep better, and Noctis could fall asleep anywhere so it wasn't like he minded. But all he could see out the window now was a black void.

It wasn't until the screaming outside started that his brain finally connected the dots of what that meant.

The lights of Hammerhead had gone out.

And Prompto wasn't there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> In case y'all were wondering, this ending was what I was apologizing in advance for lmao 
> 
> It was not a trick! Though, that doesn't mean it wasn't made into a trap. But seeing all of you thinking that Noctis was a fake was pretty funny, not gonna lie. 
> 
> See ya next week, where we'll find out what's happening to Prompto!


	10. Month Eight

Prompto woke up with an undeniable urge to pee. This was a normal experience, one she couldn't go a single night without now that her baby had dropped and was pressing more steadily on her bladder, so all she really did was grumble a bit as she prepared to lever herself up onto her feet.

What wasn't normal was the warm weight of someone's arms wrapped around her.

She paused, blinking the sleep from her eyes, and with the help of the bright lights outside her window she was able to just make out Noctis' sleeping face.

Memories of the day before rushed back to her and she almost broke down crying right there and then. Because it had been _real_. It hadn't been a dream that her desperate mind had cooked up. All the begging and pleading she'd done with the universe these last few months had finally come through. Noctis was _here_ , with her, no longer trapped within that stupid crystal. And maybe he'd missed out on almost her entire pregnancy but he'd be here to welcome their child into the world with her and that was more than enough.

Maybe the world was still going to shit, maybe it was still dark all the time and daemons roamed freely and their food supply was slowly but steadily depleting, but.

But.

Noctis was _here_.

Prompto wanted to just lay there and bask in his presence but her bladder really was becoming pretty insistent. And Eliana had warned her that her bladder would be weaker, now, and no way was she going to take any chances with _that_.

She'd go to the bathroom, maybe go down to the kitchen to grab a quick snack and see if Cor was up, and then she'd come right back up and spend awhile getting her fill of gazing at Noct's face.

With that plan in mind, Prompto heaved herself up slowly to her feet, absolutely unsurprised when Noctis just mumbled in his sleep and rolled over into her warm spot, and began to make the slow and careful trek downstairs. She really would have to bring up switching rooms with someone soon, because this long journey to a bathroom was more than a little ridiculous.

After taking care of that she continued on to the kitchen, ready to give Cor shit for being such an insomniac, like she was any better, only to blink in shock when she came upon an empty room. She honestly couldn't even remember the last time she'd come down here at night and Cor wasn't already situated at the table.

Shrugging, Prompto decided to grab that snack to make the side trip worth it before going back to bed. Just as she opened the cabinet she heard footsteps enter the room and turned, snarky greeting already on the tip of her tongue, and froze, horror rushing through her.

Because it wasn't Cor that stood before her.

It was Ardyn.

"Well, well, the rumors are true. You are just about _bursting_ at the seams!"

"What -" She choked, barely able to get a sound out as he ambled cheerfully forward, like he'd just popped by for a Sunday visit. Like the last time she'd seen him hadn't been after he'd taken her and tortured her and strung her up. "What are you - "

"Oh, my dear, you really must take care," his voice held nothing but concern even as his smile twisted his face into something malicious and inhuman. He was standing almost right in front of her now, boxing her in, and she had no where to go, the counter already digging too harshly into her lower back. "Stress like that can't be good for the baby."

His hand began to reach out, like he was planning to lay it against her stomach, and she _flinched_.

" _Don't touch me_ ," she snarled out, finally finding her voice. "You think you can get away with taking me again? We know what you can do now. Noct won't fall for it!"

"Won't he?" Ardyn asked, full of amusement and not the least bit concerned. "Maybe you're right. Go ahead and call for your guard dogs, then, I don't mind waiting. If, that is, you're completely sure they won't be tricked. Wouldn't want them to accidently attack you, now would we? Not when you're in such a state."

And Prompto... she couldn't.

Because there was still that doubt in the back of her mind. It would be so easy for Ardyn to trick them, especially since they'd already be panicking. And Noctis never thought straight when it came to Ardyn, not since Altissia, and Gladio and Ignis probably wouldn't be much better after what had happened at the Keep.

If it was just her, that would be one thing. She could avoid or take the hits until they caught on, now that she'd know they weren't really attacking _her_ , but it wasn't just her this time. She was eight months pregnant, ready to pop any day now, and she couldn't risk that. She _couldn't_.

And so she stayed silent and prayed she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life.

"There's a good girl," Ardyn cooed at her and she shuddered in disgust. She hated this, hated him. How had this all gone so wrong so quickly? She'd just gotten Noctis back! Things had been good again! Why did this have to happen, now of all times?

The last thing she saw was Ardyn's hand reaching for her before her world went dark.

* * *

_"Oh,[ηλιαχτίδα μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=my%20sunshine&op=translate), I am so sorry."_

Prompto blinked. She was in the flower field, the one she'd been in so many times before in her dreams, but now it felt so much more... real. She wasn't laying in the grass while humming and soft fingers lulled her into a peaceful sleep. Instead she was sitting up, completely coherent, and for the first time came face to face with the being that had been calling her here for months.

Prompto could immediately tell that, whatever they were, they weren't human. For one, they were far too large, towering over Prompto even though the both of them were sitting. For another, their dark skin was actually glowing faintly gold, even in the bright sunlight. They had to be a god of some sort, they were far too ethereal to be anything else.

"Sorry for what?" Prompto asked, only a little surprised when she was actually able to speak the words. She'd never been able to speak out loud in this place before but that had been when she'd been dreaming. This, here and now, felt much more solid than a dream.

_"I am a mother to all things. And you, you are also a mother, now. As such, we share a connection, you and I. I have been reaching out to you all of this time, strengthening that connection, using it to gain freedom. For both myself and for my King of Light."_

"Noctis? You're the one who got him out of the crystal?"

_"He freed himself,"_ the being told her, seeming to almost beam with pride. _"I merely gave him the motivation. Namely, your voice."_

"My... voice?"

For some reason, the uncertainty in Prompto's tone caused a sadness to overcome the being's face. Just seeing it, Prompto felt like bursting into tears herself. _"He loves you,_ _[αγαπητέ μου.](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate) More than all the stars in the sky. He gave up the power of the crystal, of the ring, a power greater than that of the Six, all without a moment of hesitation. All because you asked him to come back."_

And, yep, there were the tears. "For me? He did all of that just for me?"

_"All for you."_

"But... But he needed that power, didn't he? To stop Ardyn, to bring back the sun. Right?" How many people were going to die because of her? Was she really going to be the reason that the world ended, once and for all? "I know there's some kind of prophecy. I screwed it up, didn't I?"

_"You did,"_ and Prompto couldn't understand, because instead of looking upset the being before her was _smiling_ and it was like the dawn breaking. _"You, Prompto Argentum, are an anomaly that not even Bahamut could have accounted for. He does not know people, he does not understand_ love _. He thought the young king could be controlled, that his sense of duty and his loyalty to the Oracle would ensure he would follow the predetermined path laid before him. But He did not account for_ you _."_

It wasn't like hearing this was news to Prompto. She'd always known that she was different, even back when she was a kid. And even as a clone she was an outlier, a part of a batch that had been a _mistake_. She'd never been meant to be a girl, but one tweak of genetics had resulted in it anyway. And it had only been pure chance that she'd been the one taken from that lab and brought back to Insomnia instead of being turned into a daemon or disposed of with all the rest.

_"It wasn't fate or destiny that brought you here,"_ the being told her, as if reading her thoughts. And who knew, maybe they could. They had been in all of her dreams before now, hadn't they? _"It was pure luck, pure chance. All of it was, down to that night where you created new life together. It could've happened at any other time, or not at all. And instead it happened now, here, where I could connect to you like this. I have been trapped away for so long, forced to look upon this dying star from a distance, unable to do anything. But now, because of you, there is a chance. Now, because of you and the life growing within you, the magic that runs through their veins as their birthright, I can be free. But you have to make a choice. And once that choice is made, it cannot be undone."_

Prompto felt like her head was spinning. "A choice? I don't... I don't understand."

_"A choice, yes. I can form a covenant with you. And through that bond, I can be freed. Unlike the Six, I will not sit on the sidelines and watch as this world, as my_ children _, die. But once forged it cannot be broken. I will be with you, a part of you, until you pass on. My magic will be yours. And it shall pass forever more unto your bloodline, much as the Draconian's did so many eons ago. It will change you. It will change your child. You are my children, as all are, but you would be_ mine _."_

"Would it hurt them?" Prompto shuddered, suddenly feeling cold even with the sun shining upon her. "My baby? Would that hurt them?"

The being's eyes softened. _"They would be different. They might feel apart from those around them, separate, as the young King once did. But it would not hurt them. I would not hurt you."_

"Who are you? Just... just who _are_ you?" This whole thing was crazy. Was she just dreaming after all? That seemed a lot more believable than this. Some kind of god was trying to form a covenant with her like she was Noctis but she _wasn't_. She wasn't special. She was just Prompto. MT clone or not, all she'd ever been was just Prompto. Just because she was a girl and had fallen in love with Noct and, by some kind of miracle, he'd loved her back. Just because she'd become pregnant with his child, a child that had the magic of the gods running through their veins, magic that made a spark capable of forming some kind of connection. It was crazy. All of this was crazy.

_"You may call me Eos,_ _[αγαπητέ μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate)." _The words were spoken softly, gently, and yet they hit Prompto with the force of a sledgehammer. She wasn't surprised, somehow, like some part of her had known this all along. But the fact that _Eos_ , Mother of the Dawn, _Goddess of their Star,_ was sitting there and talking to Prompto like it was normal had her feeling like her head was going to explode. Maybe she really had gone crazy after all. _"And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you have to make a choice. Because it's coming."_

"What is?" Prompto barely managed to ask, feeling breathless. This was all way too much to take in.

The being - Eos, that was _Eos_ \- smiled sadly at her, face full of a grief that Prompto couldn't even begin to comprehend.

_"The end."_

* * *

Prompto knew before even opening her eyes that she was no longer in Hammerhead. It was far too cold, first of all. Even without the sun, Leide tended to run warm, though not nearly as scorching as it had back before the endless night began. Secondly, she could feel that she was laying on something flat and hard, probably the floor, and there was no way in hell anyone would've allowed that.

Third, she remembered Ardyn in the kitchen and she knew that hadn't been a bad dream - which meant her talk with _Eos_ of all beings probably hadn't been a dream either but one problem at a time - so she knew she had to be somewhere else.

It was silent all around her and stayed that way, even as the minutes ticked by as she tried to gain her bearings. Finally, she peaked her eyes open slowly, wanting to be ready for anything. There wasn't much she could do, not in the state she was in, but still, she wanted to be ready.

Somehow, she was both surprised and not when she found herself staring at the inside of an abandoned office. The marble floor, intricately detailed walls and large, ornate desk told her she was likely somewhere in the citadel. She hadn't visited often, at least not outside of training, but she could still recognize it well enough. As she used a nearby chair to struggle to her feet, the nameplate on the desk informed her that she was in the office of Cor Leonis and she immediately had to fight back a wave of tears.

Did Cor know that she was gone? He hadn't been in the kitchen and he almost always was in the middle of the night. Was he okay? Had Ardyn done something to him? And the others, did they know yet? How long had she been gone? Had Noctis woken up to a cold bed and no sign of where she'd been taken or who had taken her?

_Stop_ , she commanded herself before she could spiral further. There was no way she could find out the answer to any of those questions right now. She needed to instead focus on what she could do now.

Which, admittedly, wasn't much. If she was in the citadel that meant that she was in Insomnia. No one had dared venture into the city during the long night. It was far too much of a risk for barely any gain. The city was infested with daemons, more than practically anywhere else on the planet besides maybe Gralea. If that were the case, she was stuck here until someone came for her because there was no way she could make it out on her own. It wasn't worth the risk.

On the flipside, though, Ardyn had been the one to bring her here which meant he also had to be around here somewhere. Knowing him, he was probably setting up clues for Noctis to follow. If she even left this room she could walk into a trap not meant for her.

So, what? Did she just have to sit here and wait and hope that someone found her before it was too late?

Was she really that useless?

"Here we are again," Ardyn's voice sang out from the doorway behind her and she _flinched_ before spinning to face him, heart pounding away. Her stomach roiled, her anxiety making the baby within her restless, but there wasn't much she could think to do to stay calm in this situation. "You, captured and within my grasp, the bait at the end of my hook, just waiting for your prince to rescue you. The perfect damsel in distress."

"Why are you doing this?" Prompto demanded, voice coming out far shakier than she would've liked. She took a step back for every step forward Ardyn made, desperate to keep some distance between them. But there was only so far she could go before her back hit the wall. "Why this, _again_? Are you really that uncreative?"

"Why?" Ardyn laughed like she'd just told the greatest joke, but she swallowed nervously at the unhinged, viscous tone of it. "Why? Because you've _ruined everything_!"

He was suddenly right in front of her, the red of his warp barely a flicker of light. His face had transformed, twisted, the black of the scourge dripping from his eyes and mouth. She wanted nothing more than to get away from him but there was nowhere for her to go. Once again, she was trapped.

"There was a plan! A prophesy! I was finally going to be able to rest and _you've ruined it all!_ " And then, as suddenly as it had come, the rage drained from him and he was once more the calm, crooning Chancellor Ardyn Izunia. "But that's what you do, isn't it? You ruin things. And now, because of the _thing_ growing inside of you, you've doomed this whole world to never ending darkness. All for a stupid mistake. How does that feel?"

And if it was just Prompto, she probably would've faltered, would've taken his words to heart because they were things she'd always thought about herself anyway. The poison he spat at her was no different from what she thought every day. And to have someone else say it just made it seem more true. And she'd already asked herself if she would be the cause of the end of the world, hadn't she? Eos had said Noctis had turned away from the power he needed to fulfill the prophecy and save the world, all because of her.

But even if that were true, even if she was the cause of the end of the world, that didn't matter. He could say whatever he wanted about her, she'd probably thought it all before anyway.

But he had no right to speak about her child. Not in any way but especially not like that.

"They're not a _thing_ ," she spat, anger overtaking her fear. She reached for her connection to the crystal instinctively and was immediately answered, like even just Noctis' magic was jumping at whatever chance it had to help keep her safe. But she couldn't go for one of her normal weapons, they were far too dangerous and loud and she couldn't chance injuring her baby. "And they will _never_ be a _mistake_."

She swung as soon as she felt the weight of a dagger in her hand. She wasn't as good as Ignis or even Noctis with a blade, never would be, but she'd still gotten enough training to know how to use one. She took great pleasure in the flicker of surprise that passed through Ardyn's eyes before plunging the knife directly into his neck. It was sharp enough, thanks to Ignis' upkeep, that it nearly cut his head clean off.

She knew from last time that his healing was quick and something like that wouldn't keep him down for long, probably barely a minute or two. So she took the chance she had and _ran_ with it, moving as fast as she could to swerve around him and out of the room. She'd only made it about halfway down the hall when she heard that unhinged laughter ring out behind her.

"Run, run, as fast as you can!" Ardyn's voice sang out, making her shiver from the pure delight in his tone. "But you've got nowhere to run! And your dearly beloved is a bit busy at the moment, what with the daemons tearing Hammerhead apart. I wonder, who's going to save you?"

_Don't listen_ , Prompto commanded herself, even as her heartrate skyrocketed. Daemons in Hammerhead? Had the lights gone out? Were the others okay? What had Ardyn _done_? _Just keep moving, you have to hide, don't listen!_

If Ardyn was telling the truth and the others really weren't coming it was all the more important that Prompto hide. She couldn't fight, couldn't risk it, and she wouldn't get the chance to surprise him like that again. This was her one and only chance to gain some distance. And he knew as well as she did that she couldn't leave. He was arrogant enough to let her continue on unhindered.

And she'd take as much advantage of that arrogance as she could. Because maybe she hadn't visited the citadel all that often as a teenager but that didn't mean Noctis hadn't told her stories about growing up here. And many of those stories had involved sneaking around the old servant passageways, halls that had been long out of use and therefore almost completely forgotten and overlooked.

The citadel as it was had been fully built long after the Mystic's time. Would Ardyn know about the secret passageways? Would he think she would know about them? Either way, it was the best option she had for getting out of sight and away from him as quickly as she could.

And the cramps suddenly tightening her abdomen told her she needed to get out of sight _now._

* * *

Prompto grit her teeth and huddled further into herself.

She hadn't stayed in the passageways for long. They were dark and cramped and, after a few minutes of walking, she'd heard chittering and the sounds of scurrying feet up ahead. It could have just been animals seeking refuge but with the pain in her stomach and lower back and the panic still thrumming through her she hadn't been about to take that chance. She'd been walking for long enough to put a good amount of distance between herself and Ardyn and hopefully he wouldn't know which direction she'd gone in. As long as she holed herself up and stayed as quiet as she could she should be able to wait until help arrived.

At least, that had been her plan. But as the cramping in her stomach continued on and seemingly began to get worse she had a feeling that things were about to take a very drastic nosedive for her.

Because this wasn't Braxton Hicks. As the weeks went by and the due date rushed forward Eliana had made sure Prompto - and every one around her - knew the signs to look out for and she'd been steadily ticking them off her list. She'd felt the baby drop weeks ago and had panicked before being assured that it was normal for the first pregnancy. She'd gone through all the gross stages, with the mucus discharge and the leaky boobs. She'd been getting semi-regular exams with Cindy's help to check her dialation - and those were _forever mortifying_ and she and Cindy had a pact to _never talk about them again_ , even if Cindy had been laughing as she agreed.

And now, sitting here curled up under a desk in some out-of-the-way office that belonged to someone she didn't know, she could feel the way her joints seemed to be becoming jelly. The cramps were becoming worse, slowly but steadily, still ignorable but she knew they wouldn't be for long. She still had time, they only lasted for a few seconds at a time and she had over ten minutes between each bout, though she didn't really have a way to time them exactly.

She had time, still. She just had to keep telling herself that. She could hold off until the others came to get her. She had to.

Prompto didn't know how long she sat there, in the dark and timing her contractions as best she could, but she knew they'd gotten slightly closer by the time her attention was stolen by a bright flash of orange light from outside the window.

She debated with herself for a long moment. Did she want to risk getting up to check what that had been? It was most likely just some kind of daemon. But... But it might have been something else. She had to have been gone for hours at this point.

The surge of fragile hope in her chest was enough to urge her to her feet, even if it took her longer than it ever had before to do and left her out of breath. She waddled towards the window as best she could, hands gripping her belly tightly even though she knew she still had a good five minutes at least left before the next contraction was due to hit. But she couldn't afford a fall right now, not when there was nothing but a hard marble floor to catch her, and she'd rather be safe than sorry.

She inched closer to the window, hesitantly peeking down into the courtyard below, and the first thing she saw was _fire_. It was practically everywhere, but mostly surrounding the large being that stood carelessly burning. Part of her wanted to say that it was a daemon, and she could already feel her heart sinking in disappointment, but that didn't seem quite right. Whatever it was was certainly corrupted, if the scourge covering most of it's left side meant anything, but there was a presence there that she'd never felt around other daemons before.

But she had felt it around the Six.

Before she could fully comprehend what that had to mean a figure flitted into sight, heading straight for what had to be _Ifrit_. The two collided even as others swarmed forward from the ground and Prompto simultaneously wanted to cry from relief and rip her hair out in anxiety. Because that was Noctis, lunging at a God over and over again, while Gladio and Ignis and Cor gave support from below.

They'd come for her. They were all alive and here and they'd come for her, even after what had happened the last time they had.

But that wasn't how this was going to end. They were all walking out of this place together, no matter what it took.

And the first step to that was to meet them halfway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I have not done a very thorough reread of this so like... there's probably mistakes. Sorry.
> 
> Secondly, I'm actually posting on time! Mainly because I did something to my knee on truck day and had to call off of work because I literally can't walk on it. I'm really hoping that staying off of it and icing it helps because I CANNOT afford to see a doctor like hahaha I'm so fucked!
> 
> Lastly, I have a question for all of you. There are a lot of things I want to add to this fic but they really just won't fit. So, I'm planning to write them separately. My question for you guys is: would you prefer I write just one fic with chaptered one shots? Or for me to write each one shot as its own fic and make it a series? I really don't mind either way but I figured I'd get your opinions.
> 
> There's probably only about two chapters left, maybe three! We're in the home stretch you guys!


	11. Sorrow

_'Halfway'_ ended up, apparently, meaning the Throne Room. It definitely hadn't been Prompto's intention, in fact she'd meant to travel _down_ to meet them. But some instinct, some feeling in her gut had led her _up_ instead.

And now, here she stood, alone and staring up in horror at the sight before her.

Finding Ardyn sat on the throne wasn't a surprise, as much as it made fury flare hot within her. No, that she had expected.

What Prompto hadn't expected were the four bodies hanging from the ceiling like twisted marionettes, scourge-riddled and decayed. The King and Lady Lunafreya and Lord Amicitia. Even _Nyx Ulric_ , the Galahdian Glaive that she remembered being the talk of the Citadel and everyone's ' _work crush_ '. Even though all she wanted to do was look away, she couldn't move beyond bringing a shaking hand to cover her mouth.

Ardyn was vindictive and twisted, she knew, and this was well within his ability to do but it was... maybe the most cruel thing he'd done yet, taking these visages of Noct's loved ones, people he'd already lost and mourned because of this monster, just to throw it in his face like this.

It made her feel sick.

"Ah, you're quite early to the show," Ardyn's voice drawled down towards her, completely unbothered, like she hadn't sliced his throat open the last time she'd seen him. "Don't tell me you're that excited to watch your beloved prince parish at my hands."

"Not gonna happen!" She snapped, finally tearing her eyes away from the strung up corpses to glare at him as viciously as she was able. "Noctis is going to _kill you!_ "

Ardyn hummed in response, settling back into the throne comfortably, and she wanted to snap at him to _get up_ because that _wasn't meant for him_ , but was just barely able to bite her tongue. It wasn't like she could make him move at the moment. Much as she hated to admit it.

"That was the plan," he admitted finally, easily, and she blinked. _What?_ "The Chosen King, Part Two. Destined to kill the Accursed and rid our Star of the Scourge. I wasn't going to go down easy, oh no. The Gods made their choice and I wanted them to _reap it_."

His face darkened into an ugly snarl, scourge dripping from his mouth in black globs, and Prompto shuddered at the sight. Between one blink and the next, though, he looked normal again, human, like they were discussing nothing more important than the weather.

"Without the power of the crystal or the ring, without the blessing of _Bahamut_ ," he spit the name, "young Noctis doesn't stand a chance, I'm afraid. I'm going to kill him and I'm going to laugh in the God's faces while I do it. I'll carve out his heart and leave it here, as an offering to them. The last they'll ever receive. And then I'll burn down the entire world and them along with it."

"You're crazy," Prompto realized, seeing the true madness in his eyes, and released a shaky breath. It shouldn't be a surprise, not after all she knew he'd done. But... he had always seemed so collected. Every step that had been taken since they'd left Insomnia for Altissia, hell, since the treaty was first proposed, Ardyn had seemed to have all of it planned out. No matter what they did, it felt like he was constantly ten steps ahead and mocking them as he waited for them to catch up.

And maybe he had been. Maybe he really had planned out all of it, everything from the start of the road trip to Noct getting sucked into the crystal at the Keep, but he hadn't planned for Prompto, not really. He hadn't planned for the baby and how that would change _everything_.

Hadn't Eos said it? It was pure luck, pure chance. Not even the Gods could've planned for it.

And it had broken whatever was left of Ardyn's mind, it seemed. She'd seen him slip up in his fury more in the last few hours than she had that entire time in the keep.

"Oh, darling, you don't know the half of it," the man chuckled as he heaved himself up onto his feet and began making his way down the stairs slowly. And that... that wasn't good. As much as Prompto hated seeing him on the throne she'd much rather he stay as far away from her as possible, thanks. "And, well, you're here already. Maybe I can string you up for our dear Noct, too. Really drive it home just how much of a mistake he's made."

"I don't fucking think so."

Prompto sagged as Noct's voice growled out from behind her, the relief so strong that her legs nearly gave out. She barely had time to blink before she was surrounded, Noctis standing in front as if to block Ardyn's view of her and Gladio and Cor at her sides. Iggy came up behind, taking a gentle hold of her arm to keep her steady, and she wanted to _sob_ , to break down right there. Because she was scared and she was tired and she could feel a contraction coming, only eight minutes after the last one, and she wanted to go _home_.

But she wasn't alone anymore, and that meant more to her than anything right now.

Noctis tilted his head, just a bit, just enough to glance back at her while still keeping Ardyn in his peripheral. "Did he hurt you?"

And Prompto shook her head, because he _hadn't_. He'd taken her and he'd terrified her and maybe he would've hurt her soon, if only to cause Noct more pain, but he hadn't actually laid a finger on her this entire time.

And wasn't that... odd, now that she thought of it? He certainly hadn't hesitated to physically torture her the last time he'd had her captive.

"I'm not hurt but... I think," she hesitated, eyes darting up to the madman that was patiently waiting them out, like he hadn't a care in the world. If anything, he only looked amused. "I think it's almost time. The contractions are... getting closer."

Prompto really didn't want to admit that out loud, not right now, but it was definitely better that they knew. Right on time, too, as her stomach cramped and she gasped, legs becoming jelly as Ignis carefully helped her lower herself to her knees. She focused on breathing through it, hands clutching at her swollen tummy, and within seconds it had passed.

When she was able to tune back in again, Iggy was whispering gentle encouragements in her ear, words she could only barely hear over Ardyn's uproarious laughter.

"This really is too good! All these years, all that time waiting and _waiting_! And this is how it ends! A dumb child who's thrown away every possibility of saving this dying star, all for a failed science experiment. Bahamut must be frothing at the mouth! It almost makes your complete _stupidity_ worth it!"

"Shut the hell up!" Noctis barked out, fists clenched at his side, looking like he'd love nothing more than to comfort her but not being willing to turn his back on Ardyn. The smartest choice, in Prompto's opinion. "What are you even playing at? Taking Prompto, putting up these... illusions. What's the point? If you want a fight, you've more than got one!"

"Oh, Noct, Noct, Noct..." Ardyn _tsk_ ed, like he was scolding a child. "Don't you get it yet? You've already lost! The power of the crystal never fully absorbed into the ring. By freeing yourself early, you've lost Bahamut's favor. And isn't it just so poetic? We were both Their Chosen, and now I will end the world, and it will be all your fault."

"I'll stop you, prophecy or not," Noctis promised, voice and hands both steady as he summoned his Engine Blade from the Armiger, and Prompto felt her throat close up in fear. She wanted to grab Noct's hand and run. So what if the sky stayed dark? She didn't need the sun, she needed _him_. She couldn't lose him again. She didn't think she'd survive it this time.

"Noct," she finally forced out, feeling tears track down her cheeks as she reached for him, hand barely able to grab onto the hem of his jacket. "Noct, please."

"Ah, ah, ah. This is a fight between kings, don't you think?"

"What - ?"

Purple smoke shot out of Ardyn's hands and towards them and suddenly Prompto couldn't _breathe_.

" _What did you do?!_ "

She had just enough time to be thankful that she was already on the ground before she passed out.

* * *

"Noct is going to die, isn't he?"

She was asking the question before she'd even opened her eyes, already knowing where she was. After all, there was only one place she could feel the warmth of the sun on her face anymore.

Eos hummed, a melancholy sound. " _He was always meant to die. 'Many sacrificed all for the King; so must the King sacrifice himself for all'_."

"That doesn't _make sense!_ " Prompto yelled, not even caring that it was a god she was yelling at. "They didn't sacrifice themselves so that Noct would pay them back! They did it because they wanted him to _live!_ "

" _As I have said before,[αγαπητέ μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate), Bahamut does not understand _love _. Not the love Noctis holds for you and not the love others hold for him. All he sees is his perfect plan, all of his loose ends neatly tied up. Once Noctis makes his sacrifice, his spirit and the spirits of his family will go to the Astral Plane. And with him gone, the magic of the Six will cease to exist on this star._ "

"So... So, all this time, everything we've done, and the Six are just gonna... let Noct die. That's it."

" _That is it. Or, it was. Until you._ "

"Me?" Prompto didn't want to hope, because if losing Noctis didn't kill her then thinking she could save him and losing him anyway definitely would. But Eos was smiling down at her gently and Prompto felt like she could breath easy for the first time in _hours_.

" _So far as Bahamut is concerned, I am still tightly locked away near Ifrit's Resting Ground. He has not taken_ my _magic into account. I am not called the Mother of the Dawn for nothing,[ηλιαχτίδα μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=my%20sunshine&op=translate). I may be close to powerless now but, with your permission, our connection will be more than enough to spare the King of Light from making such a choice._"

"And... Ardyn?"

Here, the Goddess sighed, and that ageless sorrow lined her face once more. " _He was a good man, once. The best man. He cared little for himself, only used the gift that Bahamut had bestowed upon him to heal as many as he could. He knew the_ _scourge was affecting him and yet he persisted. He knew his magic was destroying him and yet still he gave his thanks for it, anything to help others. He was gentle and kind. An evil man does not live to help others. He did._ "

Prompto couldn't really even imagine it. All she'd ever seen of Ardyn was a hateful, spiteful, cruel man. He had acted the part of ally in the beginning and she could admit that she'd almost fallen for it, had wanted nothing more than to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, _she_ was from Niflheim and _she_ wasn't evil. But something about his eyes had always made her uneasy. They weren't cold. They were _empty_.

What could have happened to twist the man Eos spoke of so fondly into the monster that had just threatened to kill her and suspend her body from the ceiling for Noctis to find?

" _He was betrayed,_ " Eos answered her simply, not waiting for Prompto to voice the question. " _By his own blood, his own brother. The one you call_ the Mystic _. He attacked Ardyn and cut the Oracle down instead. Watching the love of his life die... it broke something in his mind. And the scourge that he had absorbed and contained until that point surged free. And the Six, seeing what had become of their Chosen, turned their backs on him. Unable to die, the Mystic imprisoned his brother away where he stayed for two thousand years._ "

Prompto felt the blood drain from her face. He wasn't what they wanted so they just... left him? Hadn't helped him at all? And because the magic they'd given him hadn't worked the way they wanted they'd just made him the villain? While the Mystic had been allowed to live freely and peacefully? To have his memory live on to this day, spoken of in reverence?

No wonder Ardyn wanted the Lucis Caelum line to die out so badly. It wasn't Noctis' fault, and it was wrong for Ardyn to act like Noct was no better than his ancestors, but he was the only one left for Ardyn to get any form of revenge on, wasn't he?

" _After he was taken from his prison, Ardyn was informed of the new prophecy. That he had been replaced as the Chosen One and was now the Accursed and the source of the scourge. That it was his role to one day die at the hands of the new King of Light. And he was_ angry _. But mostly he was tired. He is so weary,[αγαπητέ μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate). He only wants to rest._"

"Can we do that?" Maybe she should be holding more of a grudge. After all, Ardyn was the reason for so many things that had gone wrong. The fall of Insomnia, the death of Noct and Gladio's dads and Ignis' uncle and Lady Lunafreya and so, _so_ many others. He'd hurt so many people, her included. It was because of him that Noctis had been sucked into the crystal and it was because of him that endless night had fallen and so many had died terrified in the dark.

But it wasn't because of him, was it? Not really. He'd been forced into his role just as much as Noctis had. He'd been hurt and had died, too.

"Can we help him? If I say yes, if I let you free, can we save Noctis _and_ Ardyn?"

Watching the smile stretch across Eos' face, it was like she was already seeing the sun rise again. " _Oh,[φως της καρδιάς μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=light%20of%20my%20heart&op=translate), we will save them all. But we must hurry._"

* * *

_Hurrying_ was a lot easier when you weren't eight months pregnant and already in labor. 

Still, Prompto was just glad there was enough electricity for the elevators to run smoothly because she knew herself enough to know that she'd never make it down all those stairs. She did feel pretty guilty about leaving Ignis, Gladio and Cor laid out on the ground, though it wasn't like there was much she could really do about it. They hadn't even twitched when she'd tried to wake them up. But they were breathing, at least, just in a very deep, spell-induced sleep. 

She could hear the clash of metal before the elevator doors had even begun to open and sped up her waddling as much as she was able. Something in her gut was telling her that they really were running out of time. 

Laying eyes on the battle outside just proved it. 

Ardyn was smiling and laughing, though there was definitely a manic edge to it. He looked completely unharmed, though if that was because of his healing or because he really hadn't been hit, yet, Prompto didn't know. 

Noctis, by contrast, looked bloody and beaten, covered in cuts and bruises. But still he continued to get up and fight, doing his best to not give a single inch. 

Noct had always been the strongest person she'd ever known. Even Gladio had trouble facing him when he really gave it his all. She'd seen Noct take on beasts and daemons and entire armies and _gods_. And yet here, he was losing. Trying as hard as he could but, without all that power Bahamut had promised, still losing. 

And then Noctis was on the ground, struggling to get back up, and Ardyn was grinning and aiming his blade and - 

" _Now,[ηλιαχτίδα μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=my%20sunshine&op=translate). Will you let me free?_"

_Yes!_

Prompto could see the way Noctis' eyes went wide with horror when he saw her, as she placed herself solidly between him and the oncoming attack. Could see the way Ardyn hesitated, just for a moment, at the sight of her, heavily pregnant and protecting the one that she loved. Because he was made of bitterness and spite and the thirst for revenge, all fed by the scourge that ravaged his body and mind, but he'd been a healer once. And evil men don't live to help others but he _had_. 

And that single moment of hesitation was more than enough. 

"EOS!" She yelled out, called out, and it almost felt like the world shattered around her in response. Prompto thrust her hands out and up as power like nothing she'd ever felt before surged through her, almost too much but never crossing the line into uncomfortable. Just warm. So, _so_ warm and so gentle with her that it had tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. If she wasn't currently acting as a conduit for the raw power of the Goddess of their Star she probably would've been sobbing uncontrollably at the sheer motherly love and affection she could feel being directed her way. 

And then, between one heartbeat and the next, there was _light_. 

Light, pure white light pouring from her hands and spreading out and touching everything. She could hear Noct cry out in surprise but not pain from behind her followed by a warbled, desperate plea of her name, and she wanted to call back to him, to reassure him that she was fine, that she'd never felt more safe and protected in her entire life, but it would have to wait.

Because Ardyn was in front of her, on his knees and screaming as the light pouring from her burned away at him, and that wasn't what she had wanted. She hadn't wanted him to be in _pain_. 

" _Peace,[η καρδιά μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=my%20heart&op=translate). It is almost finished._"

Like that was the signal, Ardyn's desperate keening stopped as he fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. And that was basically what he was, wasn't it? He'd been a puppet all this time, maybe from the moment he'd been born, but he was free now. There was no prophecy to fulfill, not anymore. 

Ardyn no longer had to be the villain of the story. 

Prompto took careful steps towards his downed figure, prepared for any move he might make. Though she doubted that he would make any. Whatever the light had done, he was human now. She didn't know how she knew, but she could sense that the scourge in him was gone, just like she could sense it slowly disappearing from nearby. The distant howls of daemons being purified seemed to fill the air around them.

"Aera?" Ardyn's choked voice reached her and, as she looked down upon him, she could see that his face had crumbled in misery. "Oh, my Aera. I'm _sorry_ , so sorry, my love."

This was the man that the Six had forsaken. The man that they had condemned and vilified. The man they'd wanted Noctis to murder in cold blood before dying himself. And here that man sat and the first thing he did once cured of the scourge was apologize to the love of his life.

"Ardyn?" Prompto kept her voice as steady as she could make it but the man still flinched away from her. "It's okay. I'm going to help you."

" _Help_ me?" He was looking up at her now, expression one of disbelief, and his voice cracked on a sob. "After all that I've done?"

"Yes," she assured him gently, kneeling slowly before him. She wobbled, balance precarious, and he steadied her without even seeming to think about it, though he tore his hand away the moment she was steady, and she smiled at him. Eos had been right. This man, for all the evil the scourge had made him wrought, had been _kind_. "I know you're tired. You can rest now."

"Rest?" Prompto reached up to cup his face and, as the light still pouring from her hands touched his skin, his eyes became hazy, his face falling slack into a peaceful and wonderous expression. "I can? I'm so... so tired."

"It's okay. Just let go. We won't let you fall."

And she didn't. Even as his eyes dimmed and his body went limp, Prompto made sure to lower him down to the ground slowly, gently, even as the weight made her grunt in exertion. 

For a moment afterwards, all was silent but for the screams of dying daemons and Prompto... didn't really know what to do now. Ardyn had been such a threat for so long and now he was just gone, just like that. Eos' power was coming from her, wave after wave, spreading out into the air and already the sky looked just a little bit brighter, more like true night than the endless black it had been for almost a year. 

It was almost ridiculous, how easy it had been. And yeah, maybe it was only the set circumstances that had let it happen at all but still. If the Six had chosen to, could they have done this? If they had freed Eos instead of keeping her locked away, could she have gotten rid of the scourge before Ardyn ever even had to make the decision to destroy himself to save others from it? 

What had all of this been for, really, in the end?

"Prom?" 

She jolted, shaking off her depressing thoughts, and turned to face Noctis. Noctis, who was still half-splayed out on the ground where he'd been thrown earlier, looking at her with fear-tinged awe. Not that she could necessarily blame him for it. After all, she'd just stepped in the middle a death match to protect him and was now practically glowing like the sun. 

"It's me," she assured him, giving him a wobbly smile, and that was all it took to have him diving towards her and gathering her up into his arms. 

" _Six_ , don't do that ever again!" He breathed into the side of her head, placing kiss after kiss upon her temple. "When I saw you I almost had a heart attack! You could've been hurt!"

"I wouldn't have. Eos promised."

" _Eos?_ " He pulled away just far enough to look at her face. "Like, as in _actual Eos_? Mother of the Dawn, Goddess of our Star _Eos_?"

"That was my reaction!" Prompto giggled, feeling so happy that she was almost surprised she wasn't floating, especially when the sound of her laughter brought a smile to Noct's face. "But, yeah, actual Eos. Something about your magic and my being pregnant letting her make a connection with me? I don't know. She's been in my head for awhile. And she's a lot nicer than any of the other gods we've met. She hasn't attacked or threatened me once!"

"She better not have," Noctis grumbled, pulling her against him once more. And what did it say about their lives that that was about the extent of his reaction to hearing she'd been talking to _Eos_ in her head for months? "And Ardyn's just... gone? Just like that?"

"Just like that," she affirmed, humming contentedly, though even she was having a little trouble wrapping her brain around the fact that it was over. 

It was all over, Ardyn was gone and Eos was working on the whole "endless night" situation and Noctis was here and alive and he was going to _stay that way_. No sacrifice needed. 

It was all over. 

And then she felt a slight _pop!_ in her lower abdomen and a sudden gush a fluid was flowing out of her and, with all that had been going on, she'd actually kind of forgotten about that? _Oops_.

"Uh, hey Noct?"

"Yeah?" He pulled back again, eyeing her warily, clearly able to tell something was wrong just from her tone.

"My, uh... water may have just broken?"

She probably shouldn't have laughed at how drastically he paled from her words but, hey, she was about to push something the size of a watermelon out of her body. And she'd just helped save the world.

Prompto was allowed to make fun of him if she wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so late I am so sorry
> 
> Also it was entirely written within the last three hours? And I've been up since 4 am and worked today so uh. I haven't really given it more than a single read-through to check for errors. So sorry if I missed anything. And also sorry if it seems all over the place. I'm very tired. 
> 
> But!! We broke 100 comments! That's absolutely amazing! You guys are the best and I'm going to cry and that is a threat
> 
> My knee is doing a lot better, thankfully. Still a bit sore but definitely manageable. And no doctor visit necessary! Thank god. 
> 
> (To all of you that asked if I was American ajfklvjgkw;grjw;b you're right but you don't have to say it hdjlsalfjgbtrlwb)
> 
> Alright so one more chapter to go! And then I might write an epilogue idk I haven't decided yet. See ya next week!


	12. Bliss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, not really graphic description of birth? But still description of birth. 
> 
> I don't focus on the outside details, mostly just Prompto's perspective of what's going on and she can't exactly see it so
> 
> Still, thought I'd warn you guys ahead of time just to be safe

The thing was, they'd had a _plan_.

Maybe not a great plan - Prompto personally didn't think any birth plan was a great one if ' _go to the hospital_ ' wasn't listed on it somewhere - but it wasn't a bad one, all things considered. Eliana had taken the time to talk to everyone who'd be involved in some way, making sure they all knew what to do when the time came. She'd promised that she'd try to be in Hammerhead soon but Prompto wasn't her only patient and there really was no way to schedule childbirth without inducing, something no one wanted to do unless they had to in a world like this.

Prompto's point was: they had a plan. And, except for Noctis, they'd all had their own parts of the plan.

And yet here she was, miles away from Hammerhead and the veritable nest that she had been preparing for this very moment, on the ground in the _ruins of Insomia_ with the dying shrieks of daemons still ringing in her ears, panting as the latest contraction finally passed.

They were getting closer. Not alarmingly close, not yet, but definitely closer. Close enough that she really wanted to have a bed nearby somewhere soon, thanks.

She felt she probably should be a lot more panicked about this. Honestly, she was mostly just annoyed at the timing because _of course_ this would be happening now, of all times. _Of course_.

And she figured Noctis was probably panicking enough for the both of them, anyway.

"Noct, babe, take a breath."

"Take a breath?! There is a _baby_! Coming _out of you_!"

"Yeah, I kinda know that better than anyone. But it's not like it's just gonna pop out any second. My vagina's not a slip 'n slide, dude."

His absolutely gobsmacked expression sent her howling into laughter, which honestly only seemed to concern him further. "How are you not _freaking out_ right now? I love you, Prom, but you're like the definition of anxiety."

Yeah, she really couldn't even hold that one against him, though she still tried her best to pout at him around the giggles still trying to get free. "I don't know. My doctor said I'd probably be in a good mood in the early stages? Plus, I mean, I kinda feel like I've got the warmth of the sun in me right now. Eos said the baby would be alright if I did this and I really don't think she was lying. _Mother of the Dawn_ and all that, right?"

"I guess," Noct agreed reluctantly, still looking pretty unconvinced. But all of his interactions with gods in the past had been more than a bit shitty so she didn't blame him for the doubt. "Still. We need to get you somewhere safe. Do you think you can walk?"

"Should be able to. It'll just be slow going. And you might want to stick close, just in case."

He reached for her immediately, slowly helping her up onto her feet and then just didn't let go afterwards. Which was perfectly fine with her.

As she'd predicted, it was slow going. Walking was fine but she was still the size of a small house at the moment - or so it felt - which meant small steps because she couldn't actually see where she was placing her feet and there was rubble literally everywhere. Just as they made it back into the front lobby of the citadel they heard the cheerful _ding!_ of a nearby elevator and Prompto found herself releasing a breath of relief she hadn't even realized she was holding.

Because there, pouring frantically out of the elevator, were Gladio, Iggy and Cor.

It wasn't that she thought they were dead - she hadn't been, after all - but she'd still been worried. None of them looked harmed, though, besides a few scrapes they'd probably earned fighting their way through the city. They just looked confused and worried beyond belief. 

"Oh, thank the fucking _gods_ ," she heard Gladio breathe out when he set eyes on them, slumping back against the wall, while Cor just continued to storm forward. She felt Noctis tense beside her and fought the urge to laugh at him again. Cor's face was tight with what probably looked like anger but, to her, the expression practically screamed ' _concern_ '.

"You good?" He asked her gruffly after sparring Noct a long look up and down for injuries. His hand was gentle as he tilted her face this way and that, examining it with narrowed eyes, and she smiled at him brightly.

"I'm definitely in labor!"

The three of them froze, clearly having to take a moment to connect those words to the chirpy tone she'd used, and then they were once more in a whirlwind of frantic movement.

"We need to get her - "

" - there a room with a bed?"

"Guys."

" - need running water to - "

" - should be a car we can hotwire - "

" _Guys_."

Prompto huffed as she was thoroughly ignored, before turning to Noctis, who still stood silently by her side. He met her stare and quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Is this why you laughed at me?"

"More or less," she shrugged, unrepentant.

"Yeah, okay, fair," he allowed before cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling. " _GUYS!_ "

Finally, they stopped, Cor on his way out the door, presumably to find a car to hotwire, and Gladio heading back towards the elevator, probably to find a room with a usable bed. Ignis looked to have been the only one smart enough to dig his phone out, surprising her not at all, and looked to be in the process of calling someone. Probably Eliana.

Good. At least that way, if they didn't listen to her, they'd hopefully listen to the medical professional.

"My contractions are still pretty spaced. Longer than five minutes, though I think they're shorter than seven now. And they only last for about twenty seconds, though I haven't been able to count yet. I'm in labor, yeah, but we've still got some time. Eliana said the first one usually takes awhile. The baby's not coming _right now_. So, chill please."

They all stared back at her, slack-jawed, the same expression Noctis had given her just minutes before, and she couldn't stop herself from snorting.

And then Ignis jolted, his call finally seeming to go through.

"Yes, hello," it'd been awhile since Prompto'd heard him sound that uncertain. She probably shouldn't be finding as much amusement in all of this as she was but hey, she'd take what she could get. Today had been a hell of a day, after all, and it was only gonna get more hectic from here. "Yes, Prompto says she feels she is definitely in labor at this point. Contractions are coming in regularly, further spaced than five minutes but less than seven. Yes."

"And my water broke!" She gestured to her clearly wet sweatpants which, if she was being honest, were more than a little uncomfortable at this point. 

"And her water broke," he relayed dutifully, voice suddenly sounding rather choked. "We have been unable to check, no. We aren't currently in Hammerhead. There was a... situation. Yes. One moment."

He extended the phone towards Gladio, who took it without question and began speaking into it quietly, and then turned to march in Prompto's direction looking like he'd honestly rather be marching to his death.

"Eliana has asked me to check your dilation."

Ah.

"Here?" Prompto squeaked and yeah _there_ was the anxiety she'd been missing this entire time.

Iggy's face twitched but he managed to keep it completely expressionless, a sure sign that he was feeling just as uncomfortable with this situation as she was. "It's best to know how far along you are as soon as possible. It would take a great deal of time to make it to the living quarters from here. If possible, it would be best to use that time getting back to Hammerhead. The trip back will be much more difficult with a newborn, not to mention how damaging the journey may be on your already taxed body."

All good, rational points. At yet, still, all she could think was ' _I'm about to take my pants off in the citadel lobby so that Iggy can put a hand in my vagina'_. Not something she thought she'd ever have to contemplate, let alone _do_.

And then a contraction hit and she was gasping, barely keeping her feet and yeah, okay, rationality was going to win this round. Her baby's safety beat out her embarrassment any day.

"Thirty-seven seconds," Iggy reported as the cramping passed and she finally got her breath back. And, huh, that was longer than she'd thought. Gladio relayed the information into the phone at his ear while Cor hit a button on his watch, probably to time how far apart her contractions actually were.

And, gods, but was she so glad they were all here.

"Okay, okay, let's do this," she mumbled out, wanting to get this done before she lost her nerve, and waddled her way over to the comfiest bench in her line of sight. Which really wasn't saying much. All the benches in here were wooden and barely curved with absolutely no cushioning at all. And most of them weren't even in one piece, broken and splintered across the floor. One, though, the farthest one from the door - _of course_ \- seemed to have survived the fall and subsequent daemon infestation and that's where she headed now, dragging Noctis right along with her. She plopped down and lifted her legs up into the air.

"Pants me."

Even if this was going to be one of the top most embarrassing moments of her life at least she got the pleasure of watching Noct's face go tomato red first.

"Wait - _here?_ "

Ignis sighed the sigh of the truly exhausted. "Majesty, Prompto is currently pregnant with your child. Surely the time for modesty is long passed for the both of you."

While Noctis spluttered Ignis grabbed hold of one of Prompto's legs and followed it up, reaching for the waistband and pulling both pants and underwear off in one quick movement, like ripping off a band aid.

Noctis made a faint, high-pitched noise and was ignored. Gladio and Cor had both made their way over with them, both men looking up at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing they'd ever seen, for which she was grateful. Ignis had no compunction in directing them to each hold one of Prompto's legs up so that she wouldn't have to strain herself to do so and then he was donning a pair of rubber gloves - which, how? Where had those come from? Had they just been chilling in the armiger? _Why? -_ and kneeling down so that he was face to... well.

He tilted his head up, his version of meeting her eyes, and solemnly said, "I promise not to look."

Noctis let out another high pitched sound but Prompto barely heard it over Gladio's sudden _howling_. Even Cor quirked his lips up and, just like that, the embarrassed tension inside Prompto broke. These boys were her family. Yeah, maybe this was more than a bit mortifying and uncomfortable for all of them but it wasn't so bad. It wasn't like they were going to judge her or hold this against her. They just wanted her and her child safe and happy and were willing to do whatever it took, even this, to make sure that happened.

Prompto took in a deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly. And then she nodded. "I'm ready."

Ignis nodded back and then she felt his fingers gently probing. It was... not _weird_ , per say. It wasn't like it was something she'd never experienced, never mind the fact that Cindy had been checking her dilation semi-regularly for the last week. The only thing that really made it odd was the fact that it was _Iggy_ , the man who was practically her mother - not that she'd ever say as much to his face, for all that it was certainly true - and he was touching a part of her that she'd never imagined him touching, no matter how attractive he was. But it didn't feel sexual at all, thank the gods, just a bit uncomfortable as she felt him add more fingers and probe a bit deeper.

After a long, awkward moment, he stepped away and stripped his gloves with a professionalism she could never hope to replicate.

"About four and a half centimeters. Do you know how long ago the contractions began, Prompto?"

"Uh," she thought about it as Noctis helped her to redress in fresh underwear and pants that he had summoned without a word. This whole day had been so chaotic it felt like it had been hours and minutes all at once. "Well. How long was I gone?"

"That depends on when you were taken. The lights at Hammerhead were out for a good hour before Cindy was able to repair the generator. After, it took time to administer potions and figure out just where you'd been taken before we gathered supplies to come retrieve you. All in all, from the time the lights went out until we stepped into the citadel, you were gone for around twelve hours."

Twelve hours. She'd been gone for _twelve hours_.

"Then, um, about nine hours ago? Eight? Maybe? I don't know how long I was out for, at first. Long enough for the trip here, at least. But they started about half an hour after I came to."

Ignis nodded once. "That sounds correct, given how far along you are. As such, should we leave now, we should arrive back at Hammerhead in plenty of time for the birth, baring any complications, of course."

"Uh, you sure about that, Iggy?" Gladio spoke up, looking conflicted, even as Prompto breathed a sigh of relief at the news. "I know it'd be better all around to do this thing back at base but it might be better to wait until we can get a bigger team here. There's just four of us to protect her and it's crawling with daemons out there. And not just tiny little imps. You saw that Iseultalon. No way we're getting Prompto passed that thing unscathed."

"Oh, don't worry about any of that," Prompto waved her hand, dismissing his concerns before Iggy could even launch into his own argument. It's not like Prompto could tell what was going on outside but she could still somewhat... _sense?_ how far the light she'd released earlier had spread. Her skin had stopped glowing at some point after her water had broken, likely the only reason the others hadn't demanded answers to what had happened just yet, but she could tell she was still emitting... something. Just like she could tell that Insomnia was free of daemons, now, probably for the first time since the wall had first been torn down.

The only way she could really describe it was that she was the epicenter of a dome that was slowly but surely spreading, one that would eventually cover the whole world. She was making her own wall, thanks to Eos, but unlike the one made from the ring and the crystal, her wall took nothing from her in exchange. Her wall stood solid on it's own, barely a feeling in the back of her mind, but far more powerful than any that had covered Lucis.

"Insomnia is daemon free and Leide isn't far behind. We should be good to go once we find a working car."

"But... Noct?" And Ignis sounded nearly devastated, suddenly, reaching out almost desperately to grab hold of Noctis' arm, as if to make sure he was really there. "The prophesy? The sunrise?"

"It's okay," Noct reassured, lifting Ignis' hand to his chest and holding it right above his heart and, with a jolt, Prompto realized that Ignis _knew_. Had known about the prophesy, probably had for months, maybe even before Noct had ever gone into the crystal at all. And _oh_ , but that hurt. That he might've known this whole time that Noct would be coming back one day just to die, to sacrifice himself to fix the Six's own mistake. It hurt that he might have sat next to Prompto and spoke of the future, of helping her to raise her child all while knowing Noctis wouldn't ever get the chance to.

It hurt and so she was going to push that revelation down, down, down. Now was not the time for that discussion.

"Turns out I've been asking for help from the wrong gods this whole time," Noctis explained wryly as Prompto shook herself out of her depressing thoughts. "Should've just let Prompto handle it from the start."

"Well, it wasn't _all_ me. The little one pulled their weight, too." Prompto rubbed a hand fondly over her stomach. "Eos really didn't like the planned ending so she decided to flip the script. I wasn't much of a fan, either, and agreed to help. She's working on getting rid of the daemons and the scourge now. It's a bit slow going but it's also a lot of power from a goddess that's been locked up for centuries, so. Sun should be back soon."

" _Eos_?" Cor demanded while Gladio and Ignis both let out sighs that were equal parts relieved and resigned. Really, their road trip had desensitized them all towards this kind of stuff far too much. It probably wasn't all that healthy. " _The_ Eos? Kid, what in the hell did you _do_?"

And Prompto couldn't help but laugh.

.

* * *

.

Finding a working car was a lot easier than any of them had been expecting. Actually maneuvering that car through the rubble and out of the city ended up being the challenging part.

Still, they'd made it and were now on their way back towards the distant lights of Hammerhead. And, true to her word, they hadn't seen a single daemon yet. The boys still stayed tense and on guard the whole way, ready for any kind of attack, but one didn't live this long without those kind of instincts in the dark, even if you weren't adding daemons to the mix.

Thankfully, for their stress level and Prompto's, they encountered very little besides a few tumbleweeds. Within the hour they were pulling into the gate, their shoulders all loosening the moment they were within the spotlights.

Hey, she might know logically that the daemons were gone but she'd never exactly been rational. It was going to take a lot of time to feel safe in the dark, if she ever could. And she knew it wasn't just her that would be fighting those fears.

Prompto hadn't even made it out of the car fully before a blonde blur was crashing into her, almost knocking her back in if it wasn't for Noct's sure hands on her back.

"Oh, I was so worried," Cindy cried into her shoulder, voice sounding beyond wrecked. "The lights went out an' no one could find you! You were jus' gone and we thought - I thought - "

"Shh, it's okay," Prompto rocked them side to side, that way Cindy had done for her so many times before. She didn't need Cindy to clarify what she'd thought. You go missing in the dark and you're either eaten or, worse, turned. Either way, you're not coming back. Plain and simple. "I'm okay, I promise."

It took a few more minutes of holding on tightly and whispering reassurances for Cindy to finally calm down enough to let go. And, honestly, the only reason she probably did in the end was because a contraction hit and she kind of _had to_.

"Sorry," Prompto panted afterwards, knowing she'd squeezed the other blonde a lot harder than she'd meant to. "Sorry."

"It ain't nothin', hun, don't you worry." Cindy stepped back but kept her hands on Prompto's shoulders, inspecting her up and down for injuries before nodding once. "Well, let's get you inside and off those feet, yeah? You've had more than enough stress so you're gonna just sit an' let us take care o' you, ya hear?"

_Gods_ , but that sounded nice. Really, really nice. She actually had to blink the tears from her eyes for a moment before she could say, almost desperately, " _Please._ "

Things moved quickly after that. It seemed like all she did was blink and she was laying in the bed that had been set up in Cindy's living room with pillows stacked up behind her back and under her knees. Somewhere along the way she'd lost her shoes and her pants, Cindy helping her into the medical gown that Eliana had brought for her earlier in the month.

And then, all that was left was to sit there and wait.

All of those movies and tv shows had lied to her, she couldn't help but think glumly in the moments in between her ever-worsening contractions. They'd all made it seem like the moment your water broke you should probably expect the kid to slide out of you within the next ten minutes. Real life, however, didn't work that way, no matter how much she kind of wished it did.

It's not that Prompto wasn't happy to have time! If life worked the same as cinema she probably would've been having her baby on that stupid wooden bench in the wrecked lobby of the citadel. Instead she was able to get back to Hammerhead where she could do this as safely and as comfortably as possible - for the given value of _comfort_ , anyway, seeing as how she had barely any access to viable pain medication. There would be no epidural for her. 

Still, she could do without the hours of boredom tinged with anticipation between bouts of pain so bad she actually threw up once.

Thankfully, Noctis and Cor stayed dutifully by her side. The others came and went, making sure she had everything she needed or wanted while also getting in touch with their contacts, spreading the word about the approaching dawn and getting feedback on the leftover daemon activity. If asked, Prompto could tell them exactly how far her " _wall_ " had spread and which areas were now scourge free but she didn't blame them for checking up on it. It was definitely better to be safe than to be sorry.

Cor left briefly only once and returned not long after with a meal for her and, though she still felt more than a little queasy, she just couldn't say no to him. He wasn't pleading, per say. Hell, he hadn't even actually asked, had just set it on her lap and stared her down expectantly, but she'd gotten a whole lot better at speaking _Cor_ and so she knew it was his version of taking care of her. She appreciated it more than she'd ever be able to tell him. By the way he ruffled her hair as she ate she figured he understood anyway.

Noctis napped, surprising absolutely nobody. Still, he stayed determinedly by her side the entire time and came awake for every contraction, holding and helping her through it. She wished that she could nap with him. She hadn't even gotten to the actual hard part yet and already felt exhausted. But she'd never been one to fall asleep quickly, not like he could, and whenever she miraculously managed to doze off the next contraction had her wide awake again.

Truly, she'd never been more grateful for King's Knight than she was now.

Still, it couldn't last forever, no matter how slow she felt like time was passing. Soon enough her contractions were coming in every other minute and she was beginning to get the urge to just _push_.

"Hold on, hun, I know, I know, hold on," Cindy soothed at her whimpering, patting at her thigh. She'd been moved around, at this point, so that she was laying closer to the edge, making it easier to give the others open access. She was trying really hard not to think about the fact that she was on display here. Which was actually pretty easy, what with most of her brain power being taken up by all the _pain_.

Prompto had been shot and stabbed and burnt and beaten and _tortured_ and she'd never felt pain like this before. It felt like the inside of her body was being ripped apart with each wave of cramps and she was crying, sobbing, and surely something had to be wrong for it to hurt like this?

"Almost there, I promise, you're almost there. Just a bit more and you can push, okay sugar?" Cindy asked, clearly trying to comfort her, but Prompto couldn't even find the breath to answer with the way her insides were tightening.

" _I have you,[η καρδιά μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=my%20heart&op=translate),_" the voice of Eos whispered in her head, quieter than it had been before but still very much there, and Prompto _sobbed_.

"You've got this, Prom," Noctis was there, kneeling on the mattress at her side, and though he was wincing he made absolutely no move to remove his hand from her no-doubt crushing grip. "You're so strong, strongest person I've ever met. Gladio's got nothing on you."

"Hey," the man in questioned objected half-heartedly from across the room, and she couldn't help but giggle a bit, even if it did come out wet and choked. Noct's answering grin told her that had been his goal all along. _Gods_ , but she loved him.

"Push a watermelon out of your ass and then we'll talk," she told the shield breathlessly as the pain began to ease off. She knew the reprieve wasn't going to last long. Probably a minute, tops. "Until then, title of strongest is officially mine and you can cry about it."

"I do believe you've been outvoted," Ignis weighed in, voice calm in a way that said it was very much purposeful, and patted Gladio on the arm consolingly. His phone was held up to his ear in his other hand, where he'd been speaking with Eliana since her contractions had become three minutes apart and she'd hit eight centimeters. He'd had her on speaker for awhile but had taken her off when Prompto'd snapped about the noise. She'd felt bad about it after the pain had passed a bit but what was done was done.

Gladio, for his part, was starting to look extremely uncomfortable, now that she actually looked at him. "Gladdy?"

"I'm here," he reassured instantly, like she couldn't see him _standing right there_.

"You okay?"

He huffed, shaking his head, "Only you would ask me that at a time like this."

"He's fine, kid," Cor promised, petting her hair away from her sweaty face, and she blinked up at him almost dazedly. It wasn't that she'd forgotten that he was there - impossible, when he'd been next to her this whole time - but he'd been really quiet since things had really _started_. "Worried about you, just like we all are."

"Oh," she breathed. Looking back at him, that did make sense. He looked really tense, like he was prepared to swing a punch at any moment. But it wasn't like this was a problem he could solve by beating it up. All he could do was sit back and wait for it to pass. This fight was all hers.

Speaking of fighting, she could feel the next wave coming and sucked in a sharp breath. She hated this, _hated it_ , but it was worth it. It was so, so worth it.

_Soon_ , she told herself over and over as she tried desperately to keep her breathing even the way Cindy was urging her to. _Soon, it'll be over soon_.

" _Now,[αγαπητέ μου](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate). Listen to your body, and_ push."

She pushed. She pushed with everything she had, all of her strength, and then the cramping calmed and she was left panting and blinking spots out of her eyes.

"You're doing so good, love," Noctis was there, peppering her face with soft kisses, and part of her wanted to shove him away to get some breathing room but the rest of her wanted him as close as he could get. Pain had always made her indecisive like that. She wanted to hide away to lick her wounds like an injured animal while also desperately wanting to be comforted. When she'd been a teenager it'd been hard - almost impossible - to give in to that desperation, still expecting to be left behind like she always was.

That faith had been shaken again, recently, there wasn't any denying it. But her family was here with her, now, and they weren't leaving. She could trust them to stay and take care of her.

"Alrigh', here we go," Cindy bent down and Prompto could distantly feel her hands on her. "This next one's gonna be a big one an' you're gonna push, okay? Much as you can."

"Squeeze all you need to," Noctis patted her hand, the one that was still crushing his in its grip. Cor, holding her other hand, nodded resolutely. They'd both taken hold of her legs with their free hands, holding them up so that she wouldn't have to strain quite so much. "Don't even worry about it, okay? Just focus on what you've gotta do. We've got you."

And then the next wave hit and she was pushing with everything she had again.

Prompto didn't know how long that went on for, just thought of pushing and pushing and _pushing_ and that became all that mattered. She focused on it in a way she'd never focused on anything before when she didn't have a gun in her hand. Beyond the cramping in her stomach and her legs, beyond the pressure, the burning, the way her body felt like it was going to tear apart. Beyond the way she was vaguely aware of sobbing and screaming and begging, of Noctis and Cindy urging her on with praise and Cor smoothing down her hair. All she could think about was her baby and the urge to hold them, finally, to see them and feel them in her arms and to do that she had to _push_.

It could have been hours or minutes, she honestly couldn't tell, but suddenly the pressure crested and she felt them, felt them coming out of her and then -

_Relief_ , like nothing she'd ever felt before, like she'd been drowning and now she was finally filling her lungs with sweet, fresh air.

"There we go," she could hear Cindy cooing softly through the ringing in her ears and the wailing of a baby. _Her baby_. That was her baby. "Oh, what a beauty. You're gonna have this whole world wrapped around your little finger, ain't ya, princess?"

"Princess?" Noctis sobbed from her side and she kind of wanted to sob, too, at the words. "Really?"

"See for yourself," Cindy grinned and then she was placing the little one in her hands on the skin of Prompto's naked stomach and, _oh_.

Prompto stared down in dazed wonder because she was so _small_. Just a tiny little thing, all wrinkled pink skin and grasping little fingers. That was her _baby_ , alive and well and here. She'd done it. She'd actually done it. 

"Oh," was all Prompto managed to choke out before she was sobbing and laughing too hard to say anything else, joy filling her up from the inside almost to the point of bursting. She couldn't do anything but beam up at Noctis as he leaned into her, both of them placing their hands on their baby and just holding. Because she was _theirs_. 

All these months of darkness and loneliness and uncertainty. All those times she'd thought there was no possible way she could do this, that she just wasn't enough to do this. 

And here was her proof that she'd been wrong, yelling out for all the world to hear. That she _could_ do this. That she _was_ enough. 

" _You always have been,[αγαπητέ μου,](https://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=auto&tl=el&text=dear%20one&op=translate)_" Eos told her softly, gently, voice thrumming with clear, fierce pride. " _Well done._ "

* * *

Prompto barely paid attention to much after that, thoughts and focus solely on her wailing baby. Only distantly did she hear Noct asking if he could use a potion on her and Ignis' quick negative. 

"The baby has been born, Noctis, but the afterbirth must still come out. We can use a potion soon, I promise you."

"'Sides, she's fine, Prom took that like a champ, didn't cha?" Cindy's cheerful voice came from where she was gently but thoroughly wiping her baby down with a warm, wet towel. Her measurements had already been taken - Six pounds and two ounces, nineteen inches long, she was _so small_ \- and now all that was left was the clean up and then she'd be all Prompto's. 

She'd fist fight anyone who tried to take her, after that. Except maybe Noctis. _Maybe_. 

Gladio, who'd been looking faintly green since he'd been volunteered to cut the ambilocal cord, huffed out a weak laugh. "You'd get a quicker response to that one from the baby. I don't think Prom's hearing a word we say."

"I can hear you," she argued, indignance overcoming her wonder, though she sounded thoroughly distracted even to herself. She winced as her sore stomach muscles continued to ripple with cramps but it was no where near the sheer agony she'd been feeling before. If she wasn't already so overtaxed, she probably wouldn't notice the placenta leaving her at all. "I just have more important things to focus on."

"You know what? That's fair."

"Okay, Noctis, now."

She felt the cold chill of a potion breaking over her and sighed, her whole body going limp so quickly that Cor actually staggered where he'd been holding her up. He readjusted quickly, though, and wasted no time in gathering her up. "Gladio, get those fresh sheets on."

"Yes, sir." 

Even being held as she was, she kept her chin hooked over Cor's shoulder so that her visual of her daughter was never blocked. 

_Her daughter_.

"Noct," she reached out blindly and began smacking him on the shoulder, only stopping when he took hold of her hand and reeled himself in until his face was cheek to cheek with hers. Cor huffed but made no objection. "Noct, we have a _daughter_."

His breath hitched, once, twice, and then he was whispering, "oh gods we have a _baby_ ," in the most joyous and anxiety-riddled voice she'd ever heard. 

Soon enough she was back on the bed, now fresh and clean, and her baby was being placed into her arms once more. She took a moment to hold her close, to nose gently along her temple and to just breath her in and feel her there, in her arms. Only then did she give in and settle in for her first feeding. 

The others took that moment as the sign to give the new parents some privacy, gathering up the soiled sheets and towels laying about and heading for the kitchen, already arguing amongst themselves over who'd sleep now and who'd stay up to keep watch. A waste of time, if you asked Prompto. The guys might each be hardheaded in their own way but Cindy was winning that fight, hands down.

"She's so tiny," Noct breathed, settling onto the bed at her side. His hand came up slowly and he hesitated for a long moment before cupping the back of their daughter's head. "I feel like I'll break her just by breathing wrong."

"Me too," Prompto admitted. "I feel like she'll disappear the moment I look away. Like I'll set her down and she'll just stop breathing."

"Okay, thank you for that fear," Noctis joked, strained, and while there was humor in his eyes she could also tell that he was actually kind of serious. Oops.

"But we'll be okay. We've got our family here with us. Our baby is gonna be the safest baby in Eos."

"Yeah," Noct agreed, smile lighting up his face, and she was helpless to do anything but smile back at him, just as she always was. "We'll be okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter of this fic BY FAR and I can't even pretend to be surprised. This chapter was a beast to write let me tell you
> 
> But I'm so excited that I'm posting it early. I just can't help it! 
> 
> As with most of this fic, this chapter comes from some research and personal experience. I tried making this scene as absolutely true to life as I could make it without getting too gross. 
> 
> Cutting an ambilocal cord is a very... unsettling feeling, at least to me. And the "they'll stop breathing if I set them down" fear is a VERY TRUE fear that I had. Literally spent the entire time in the hospital passing him back and forth with my sister bc we were both terrified out of our minds to put him down lmao rationality? don't know her
> 
> Writing this chapter made me very emotional and I'm kinda hoping it made y'all emotional too. Let me know how well I did with that. 
> 
> I was gonna end it after Eos says "Well done" but there was still some stuff I wanted to add that just wouldn't have fit neatly into the epilogue. Which there will be! So look forward to that sometime in the next week. 
> 
> Anyway, hope it met y'alls expectations! See ya next week!


	13. One Thing's for Certain

The sun reflecting off the water's surface was blinding but Noctis barely paid it any mind, only squinting further to keep his eyes on the dark shadow he could only just make out. He'd been at it for awhile now and had a few small fry fish to show for it but _this_ was the reason he was here. He hadn't been sure if what Navyth had told him about the Devil of the Cygillan would still be true; it had been years since he'd last seen the man, after all. But Noctis was determined. He _was_ going to catch this nightmare of a fish. And now that Galdin was back in working - if not yet peak - order, there wasn't any reason not to give it a go.

Patience was the name of the game here and Noctis was ready for the long haul. And if the massive size of that shadow meant anything, it was almost go time. He twitched the line, trying to entice the fish closer, and could almost hear the cheesy suspense music playing in his mind from those thrillers he and Prompto had watched as teenagers.

Closer... just a little closer...

 _Almost there_...

" _FISH!_ "

Noctis startled, flinching so hard that he practically recast his line. _Not that it mattered_ , he thought with a sigh as he reeled in his line and let his pole vanish away into its spot in the armiger. That joy-filled shriek had chased away any hint of fish.

Looking back where the noise had come from, he found Prompto standing in the sand at the end of the pier with an apologetic smile on her face, arms full of excited and squirming toddler. Their daughter's face was lit up with glee, only brightened by the golden hair that framed her chubby little face, her sky-blue eyes practically sparkling.

The sad thing was, one look at that face and Noctis couldn't even _pretend_ to be annoyed at hours of wasted effort.

"Fish! Fish! Where go? Mama, where go? Fish!"

"The fish got scared, Phaedra," Prompto reminded the daughter in a gentle voice, seeming not at all bothered by the eighteen-month-old wriggling for freedom. "They don't like loud noises, remember? It's scary for them."

Even after all these months, Noctis had no idea how she made it look so easy. He'd gotten a lot better at it, learning as they went, and he wasn't nearly as intimidated as he had been at the start - sometimes Prompto would still break out into peals of laughter, remembering his panicked face at the first explosive diaper he'd had to change, and she looked so beautiful every time he couldn't even be _mad_ about it - but Prompto just made it all seem like it was as simple as breathing, never seeming to get overwhelmed.

Noctis himself felt like he'd spent the last almost two years nothing _but_ overwhelmed. Between fatherhood - of which he'd had about two days to prepare for mentally - and rebuilding the country after it had been left in the dark for months, he had a lot on his plate. Add in reaching out to the other countries, seeing who was still alive and what connections could be salvaged, it had been pretty much nonstop work since the moment their daughter had been born.

But they were finally making headway. Towns were being rebuilt around the country, allowing the refugees of Lestallum to finally spread out and either return to what was left of their homes or find new ones.

The first few months after daybreak had been... hard. Up until that moment a lot of people had been focused on survival above all else. With the threat of the daemons gone for good and with the sun shining on them once more their loses had become all the more apparent.

Billions of people had been lost. And even now there wasn't an accurate count of the dead. There were no bodies to discover and bury, as most had been either consumed or turned. And just because they were missing didn't automatically mean they were dead. Noctis had already born witness to more that one emotional reunion.

Beyond the loss of life, the landscape had been ravaged. Daemons had felt no compunctions in tearing through towns and forests and fields, either in search of prey or just because they could. He'd seen it himself on their road trip, watching from the safety of havens as Red Giants swung their swords about in the distance, not to attack but simply to destroy.

What plant life hadn't been destroyed by the daemons had withered to almost nothing without sunlight. Which in turn had resulted in a lot of game starving before they could be hunted. Food shortage was a definite concern, one that raiding grocery stores and coernix stations for nonperishables could only do so much to combat.

But the sun was shining again and the daemons were gone. People could move about without fearing death every second they were outside the safety of floodlights. Already towns were well on their way to establishing farming fields, planting every seed they could get their hands on, and the plants were growing insanely quickly. Farmers that had survived had cautioned that it would likely take awhile for the soil to be healthy again after everything but that hadn't been the case. Ever since the sun had risen plants had been growing quick and bountiful.

When he'd mentioned as much to Prompto after a meeting with a handful of farmhands from the newly reestablished Saxham, she'd only smiled contentedly as she continued to walk about the bedroom, rocking Phaedra to sleep. He'd had his suspicions that Eos had done a bit more than just bring back the sun and banish the scourge but that reaction had been enough of an answer.

Noctis genuinely didn't know what they would've done without the Goddess' help. Would he still be stuck in the crystal? Would Prompto, Ignis and Gladio even still be alive? Or would they all be separated, working on opposite ends of the country while they fought each day in the darkness, waiting for death or Noctis, whichever came first? If food was already growing so short, would there have even been any survivors left? Or would he have returned to save a world that was already dead?

Sometimes Noctis had to stop and wonder just what Bahamut's plan really had been. How could any of the Six have sat back and watched as billions of people died in terror and agony? How could they have washed their hands of humanity so absolutely that they abandoned them to such a fate? How could they place the survival of the entire _planet_ on the shoulders of a boy who'd only been barely twenty?

Prompto usually gave him a _look_ when his mind spiraled in the direction of horrifying what-if's that wouldn't ever happen now, though, so he tried to avoid it.

Instead, he made his way down the pier, giving fishing up as a lost cause for at least today. "What are you doing out here? I thought Iggy was gonna try that new recipe now that the kitchen in the hotel is up to his working standards."

"He was until he heard something scuttling about. Apparently a family of mice moved in and hid very, _very_ well up until now. Too bad they didn't account for the blind guy with extremely hightened hearing."

"Those poor mice," Noctis shook his head, already knowing the type of rampage Ignis had probably gone on at finding a rodent in his cooking space. The man had once found ants in the kitchen of Noct's apartment and the flooring had needed to be replaced afterwards, along with a bunch of the cabinets.

Needless to say, witnessing it had been enough to ensure Noctis stopped leaving food and trash scattered about his apartment. And if that was how the man reacted to tiny bugs he didn't want to see what he did over _mice_.

Prompto shrugged, cheerful in the way only someone who hadn't seen such a thing could be. "Plus, Phae wanted to take a nap with her daddy. Wouldn't take no for an answer, the stubborn little thing."

"She gets it from you," he rebutted and then dodged Prompto's answering fist. Phaedra, meanwhile, took the chance to slither out of her mother's arms and onto the sand and then immediately booked it towards the water, still shouting for the fish all the while. Good thing Noct's reflexes had grown exponentially quicker since she'd learned how to walk. "Ah, ah, ah, little lady. And just where do you think you're going?"

"Fish!" She insisted, pointing aggressively at the water, face scrunching up in a righteous pout.

"The fish are sleeping, sweetheart. Like you should be. It's naptime, remember?" Noctis had to look away for a moment. There was a reason Phaedra was pretty much the most spoiled toddler on Eos right now. Those puppy dog eyes could be weaponized.

"Want _fish_." And oh, no, there were the tears. Sahagin tears or not they were absolutely _lethal_.

"None of that, love," Prompto chided, the only person able to withstand the full force of their daughters teary eyes and not budge an inch. Truly, she was the strongest person Noctis had ever met. Gladio folded like wet tissue paper the moment Phae broke out the lip wobble. "The fish will be back later. You don't want daddy to be sad that you're making him nap alone, do you?"

"No!" And she was turning those big, wet eyes back on him and it took everything in him not to squeal like a thirteen-year-old girl and cuddle her close. He and Prompto really had made the most adorable baby, hadn't they? "Sorry, daddy. No sad?"

"I'm not sad," he promised, giving in to the urge to kiss her forehead. "We'll come look at the fish later, alright? We've got plenty of time."

Prompto grinned at him and, with the sun shining down on her from the bright blue sky, Noctis would swear that she was glowing. And then she was leaning forward and kissing him softly, completely unashamed and open with her affection, and he was so unspeakably glad that he could have this. That he could be with her and their daughter and their friends and family. That he could live and love and watch as they rebuilt this world together, piece by piece.

Noctis was going to marry this girl, one day. He was going to be with her until the day he died, a day that was now far into the future.

They had time. All the time in the world.

"Let's go back." He could barely bring his voice to be louder than a whisper, so overwhelmed with joy as he was. Phaedra snuggled into him, head resting on his shoulder as she began to blink slowly, fighting off sleep for as long as she could - a trait she _definitely_ got from her mother - and Prompto's smile grew soft as she took his hand, seeming to know his thoughts the way she always did.

"Yeah," she agreed, giving his hand a squeeze and practically radiating happiness. "Let's go back. Together."

"Together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!
> 
> This fic ended how it lived: posted a day late lmao 
> 
> I waffled a lot over what the baby's name should be and in the end chose Phaedra (derived from the Greek word φαιδρός, which meant "bright"). I had debated giving her a Latin name to fit the naming theme of the game but it's my own headcanon that Eos is Greek (why? I do not know. It just feels Right to me) so I decided to go the Greek route instead. So, Phaedra Aulea Lucis Caelum, Princess of Lucis (and of everyone's hearts)
> 
> It's so crazy to me that this fic is actually finished. I can't even remember the last time I actually finished a multichapter fic so this is a very big moment for me lmao it's like I'm sending my baby off to college. What do I do now?! 
> 
> But, well, I AM planning to turn this into a series so while the main fic is finished that doesn't necessarily mean that the story itself is. I don't know when or what, but I will eventually be posting fics in this series to expand on everything that happened before and everything that's going to happen after. So, keep an eye out for that if you're interested! 
> 
> Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you that gave kudos, that bookmarked, that left a comment. This fic would still be stuck at chapter 8 if it weren't for all of you. Seriously, it means so, so much to me. I know I don't really reply back (and mostly that's because I genuinely forget to and then it's been days and I feel like it's been too long and I've missed my chance and I can't anymore. It's really stupid, I know, I'm so sorry my brain works like this) but I do read each and every comment and love them all! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much! 
> 
> I might not being seeing you next week but I will see you soon! Stay safe out there!


End file.
